The Forest's Curse
by Merlin's Quill
Summary: *Chap 8* Voldemort will do anything to bring Lily to the Dark Side; just as the Light Side is desperate to keep her. She, however, is determined to protect those she loves. And as noble as sacrifices are, they're just as prone to screwing up...
1. The Lily Tastes Very Good (NOTHING NASTY...

**The Little Thing that has to go up here or I'll get sued:** I own everything that J.K. Rowling doesn't. Happy? Oh, and remember this, because it's the last time you'll see it. I'm sick of these things. ::mutters::

A nice, long chapter for all you long-chapter fanatics. This is one of my first tries at L/J humor and teasing, etc., so please tell me whether you thought it was good, corny, etc. because I have to figure out what I can write and what I can't, so please review. I'm begging. Now proceeding to the story… 

**Chapter 1: The Lily Tastes Very Good.**

       Lily Evans stared at her reflection in the mirror and sighed. She just didn't look like herself at all--- Lily Rose Evans, genius, goody-goody-two-shoes, now Hogwarts's Head Girl.

       Nervously she twirled a lock of flaming red hair around her finger. Last week she had made a spontaneous decision to "brighten up" her looks by getting rid of her mousy brown hair and thick glasses, and was now on the verge of regretting it. Not that she didn't like the way she looked--- she just didn't know what other people would think. She didn't want to be a platinum blond, so she had decided on flaming-red, and her glasses had been replaced by Muggle contacts. No one would recognize her, she was sure of it.

       Dressed in tight jeans and a pink tank top, Lily looked like a gorgeous model, not the shy, nerdy witch with ordinary brown hair and thick glasses they had seen (and made fun of) last year.

       "Yo, freak! We're going now!" Petunia, Lily's stuck-up, estranged older sister, yelled from the bottom of the staircase.

       Sighing, Lily picked up her bags and the cage with her snowy-white owl Opal and headed downstairs.

~*~*~

       James Potter swiped at the tufts of his unruly black hair that were tickling his forehead and looked around anxiously for his best friends, Sirius Black and Remus Lupin. They had agreed to meet in front of the barrier at King's Cross so they could perform their latest experiment--- chucking various Muggle objects at the barrier to see if they would bounce or pass through.

       "Hey, Prongs!" Sirius bounded towards James, shoulder-length black hair swinging wildly, and hugged him swiftly, grinning wickedly. "You bring the toaster?"

       Remus reached them next, lugging an overflowing garbage bag behind him. He began to tick off objects on his fingertips, pausing only to sweep his sandy-brown hair from his eyes. "Tennis balls, history book, jug of grape juice, alarm clock, stuffed animal, lamp---"

       "Yes, Remus, we know you have it all." James then turned to Sirius. "Why didn't you bring anything? You made poor Remus bring everything?"

       Sirius grinned. "Nah, I have too much honor (James snorted at this) for that. Remus is just carrying my stuff too."

       Remus stuck his tongue out at Sirius and said, "I'm suffering here so Sirius'll help do my Divination essay for me on the train. He's best at making up drastic events that will take place when Jupiter lines up with Saturn or something like that."

       James pretended to be hurt. "And I'm not?"

       "No, I'm better."

       "Shut up, Padfoot."

       As the three friends bickered good-naturedly, they didn't see Lily Evans vanish through the barrier behind them. Lilt didn't notice them either--- dressed in their 'regular Muggle clothing', they looked like a bunch of 'regular' teenagers.

       "You guys ready now?"

       "Sure thing. Who wants the honor of chucking my mom's toaster first?"

       "Who else?" asked Sirius indignantly. "_I_ was the one who thought of the experiment in the first place."

       "Well, by all means go ahead and do so." James passed Sirius the toaster, who hefted it experimentally in his right hand.

       "Here we go, folks." The toaster flew through the air--- and vanished through the barrier.

       Remus clapped, drawing several stares from nearby people, and James whooped. "Bloody hell, the useless Muggle bread-warmer-thingy passed!"

       Sirius smirked. "I knew it would. You---"

       His words were cut off suddenly when the toaster came flying back and hit him full in the face, spraying breadcrumbs all over Sirius's hair and clothes. 

       "OW!" Sirius rubbed his sore nose. "What the---" He grabbed the toaster and crossed the barrier, his face red with indignance and fury.

       "James looked at Remus, who shrugged. "Either the wall has a reverse action spell or someone threw it." He paused, grinning. "I'm betting on the latter."

       James smiled wickedly. "Let's find out."

~*~*~

       Lily rubbed the back of her head, wincing when she touched a sore spot. She had been standing there minding her own business (looking for her friends Arabella Figg and Ariel Silvershay) when all of a sudden a toaster had come flying through the air and slammed into the back of her head with considerable force.

       _The idiot who throws a toaster at Lily Rose Evans shall pay dearly_, she thought grimly. With some satisfaction, Lily had picked up the toaster and sent it flying back through the barrier with the skill, strength, and aim of a girl who had been a pitcher in the town's softball team for 5 years, and was about to cross after it when a head with long, shoulder-length black hair poked through. The body followed--- carrying a beat up toaster.

~*~*~

       Once more than 50% of his body had made it to the other side, Sirius snarled, "Who threw the damned toaster at me?" It was partly a rhetorical question; he wasn't really expecting an answer because the culprit wouldn't just be standing there.

       That's why he was surprised when a very familiar female voice suddenly said, "_I did._ Who gave you the right to throw it at the back of my head in the first place?"

       Sirius raised his gaze from where he had it centered on the floor, and his jaw dropped 5 feet and 7 inches to the floor to hit the ground with a loud _thump_. Poised in front of him, hands placed indignantly on slender hips, was a knockout red-head with curves in all the right places.

       All Sirius could do was stare (and try not to drool or fall flat on his face).

~*~*~

       "Sirius Black!" Lily exclaimed, surprised. Then she rolled her eyes and said exasperatedly, "Why am I not surprised."

       Sirius cocked his head to the side. "You know me?"

       A voice---rather, _two_ voices saying the same thing--- cut off Lily's reply. "Hey Padfoot, how's it going?"

       Then James looked up at Lily and let out a heartfelt whistle. He was accustomed to beautiful, sexy girls and knew how to act (Not that Sirius wasn't; he just hadn't seen one in that gorgeous in a long time. Leave the poor guy alone).

       Lily scowled and was about to say something when Remus shouted, "We'll continue this on the train. It's about to go now, guys."

       Remus's cry alerted the others and they turned to dash off, leaving their experimental equipment behind where it was. Lily just stood there, momentarily confused. _What---_

       She couldn't finish the sentence. James had grabbed her hand and was pulling---rather, _dragging_--- Lily towards the compartment door where Sirius and Remus pranced about anxiously. Lily couldn't react to having James's hand in hers (or vice versa) because she was still trying to calm her thumping heart and breathe normally again.

       The train pulled away just as Lily ran up the stairs to the compartment right behind James. They were both panting heavily, still high on the adrenaline rush.

       Sirius was pacing the compartment floor, obviously deep in thought about something. Then he looked up and eyed James and Lily, eyebrow arched and beautiful black eyes twinkling.

       Suddenly Lily realized she still had her hand in James's. Blushing, Lily disengaged her hand, muttered something about changing her robes, and hightailed off.

       When Lily closed the compartment door, James and Sirius immediately turned to each other and asked, "Who is she?"

       Remus looked up from the book of hexes he was reading and said, "Her voice sounds familiar", but of course no one heard him.

       "Do you think she's new?"

       "A first year like _that_?" Sirius whistled his approval. "_You've got to be kidding_."

       "Maybe she's an exchange student from Beauxbatons or Durmstrang or something like that."

       "But don't exchange students go directly to Hogwarts though?"

       "Exchange student or not, she is _hot._" When James saw Sirius's dreamy expression, he broke out laughing.

       Between giggles and gasps for breath, James managed to choke out, "You don't even know her and you've got your sights set on her already?"

       Sirius looked highly affronted. "Prongs, this is _me. Sirius. Padfoot._ Of course I'll find out who she is. Now." He crooked a finger at Lily's bags, left alone on the compartment floor.

       The moment Sirius said that, Remus looked up. "I don't think that's a good idea."

       Sirius cocked an eyebrow at Remus, surprised. "Well, majority rules on this." He glanced expectantly at James, who shrugged.

        "Be careful," was all James said, his voice calm, perhaps even bored, but truth was he _did_ want to find out who the beautiful sophisticated stranger was. He just hid his eagerness better than Sirius, who would always be as excited as a dog that just saw a bone if he had his mind set on something or was about to do something fun. In this case, it was both.

       The very moment the words left James's lips, Sirius whooped and scampered to the seat holding Lily's bags. He selected an ordinary looking backpack and began ruffling through it, muttering about 'female things'.

       Suddenly he held up a tarnished brass notebook, triumph painted all over his slightly Gothic features. "Ah-ha!" he exclaimed, "Our fair lady's diary! 'Keep out! You have been warned!' It belongs to---"

       The diary flew out of his hands and Sirius was thrown backwards into the wall.

       "The diary belongs to me," an icy voice said as the small book flew neatly into her hands.

       The 'beautiful, sophisticated stranger' stepped out from the shadows, green eyes narrowed as she glared at the three boys.

       James inadvertently cowered back from her gaze, all of a sudden feeling--- vulnerable. Sirius shrank back into the wall even more, his expression a combination of awe, fright, and respect.

       Only Remus remained unaffected. Glancing up from his book at the two boys, he remarked matter-of-factly, "I warned you, but did you listen you me? No." He shook his head sadly, then switched his attention to the figure standing in the doorway and the shiny badge pinned to her chest. "Congrats on being made Head Girl, Lil'."

       "Thanks, Lupin." Lily walked in and plopped down on the seat, glaring at Sirius as she stuffed her diary back into her backpack. "I didn't think anyone would recognize me in that--- get-up."

       _Head Girl? "Lil'"?_ James's mind was whirling as pieces began to click into place.

       "I didn't, for a second," admitted Remus. "It was your voice that gave you away."

       _Lily Evans?_

       "Anyways, Remus, who's Head Boy?"

       James gulped. _Maybe I'd better tell them and suffer now instead of later._

       Remus looked thoughtful. "Actually, I don't know. Sirius, do you?" Sirius shook his head negatively.

       "Me." James winced at his timid squeak and said more clearly, more loudly, "I'm Head Boy."

       There was a moment of stunned silence in the compartment, then a guffaw of laughter from Sirius ("If you're Head Boy, then we won't be getting scolded day in and day out like last year by that goody-goody guy Gershwin, right?") and "Congrats, Prongs" from Remus.

       "_You?_" Lily stared, disbelieving and frozen, at him.

       "Yes, me." James sighed. "You don't believe me, do you?"

       "Who in their right mind would?"

       "Sirius and Remus apparently do."

       Lily snorted. "I said 'in their right mind', Potter. Anyone who hangs out with _you_---"

       At Sirius's indignent "Hey!", James snickered. He turned, fished something out of his bag, and handed it to Lily. "Beat this, Evans," James said smugly. With that, he turned to his bags to find his own book of hexes for some light, useful reading, smiling inwardly. _I thought Sirius would torment me about being a goody-goody Head Boy. And Lily, of all people, is Head Girl. This year will definitely be--- interesting._

       "Hey, Potter! I 'beat' it!" James turned around to find a grinning Lily brandishing his Head Boy badge--- or what was once his Head Boy badge--- in front of his face. She had placed some sort of advanced charm on it so that it would reshape itself into a stag every couple of minutes.

       _Wait a second--- STAG???_ Had Lily somehow found out that they were illegal Animagi?

       James shot a quick, worried glance at Sirius and Remus, who shook their heads slightly to respond no, they didn't tell her.

       Remus cleared his throat nervously but managed to keep his voice calm. "Hey Lil', why'd you pick a stag of all the things in the world?"

       Lily cocked her head to the side, causing her lush, red hair to cascade down and brush James's face. When he inhaled the sweet fragrance of lilies, all common sense and reasoning flew out of his head. All he could think of was kissing her…

       Lily looked thoughtful, unaware of the [indecent] thoughts going through James's mind at the moment. "Actually, the thought just popped into my head. It probably has to do with your calling him 'Prongs' or whatever. Stupid nickname," she muttered half-heartedly.

       Both Sirius and Remus sighed, looking very relieved. They glanced at James to see if he heard, but---

       James snapped out of his trance, horrified. _Kiss Lily? Was he bloody mad? She was a sort-of younger sibling who he made fun of and tormented regularly. What in the world was he thinking?_

       Though it was very hard to think of her as a sister when she stood tantalizingly in front of him with her beautiful red hair teasing his face. It was so much easier before when Lily was a shy, quiet good-goody genius with mousy brown hair and thick glasses.

       _Damn_, he muttered, _I have got to get my head checked._ Then, not even knowing what he was doing for a second, James slowly stood up, his hand reaching out towards Lily's Head Girl badge and brushing her forearm lightly in the process. She shivered involuntarily, making James glance up in surprise.

       "Yes, Potter," Lily replied to his silent question, her voice slightly unsteady. "I charmed my own badge too."

       "Into what?"

       Lily was about to answer when the compartment plunged into complete darkness and the floor shook violently, throwing Lily, James, Remus, Sirius, and their bags astray.

       "Ouch! Remmy, is that you cutting off the circulation in my leg?"

       "Don't call me 'Remmy', _Siri_. Especially if you want your leg in one piece after this is over."

       "Yes, Master Remmy. OUCH!!!!!!"

       Suddenly, Remus noticed that James and Lily were awfully quiet, wherever they were.

       "Hey Lil', Prongs, you okay there?"

       The moment the words left Remus's mouth, the lights returned.

       James was, well, sprawled over Lily, his lips just inches from hers. They appeared to be staring into each other's eyes, oblivious to the world around them.

       Sirius snickered. "Yes, Remmy," he said loudly, "they seem to be fine. Better than fine, too."

       Sirius's overly loud voice cut through the invisible bonds that held Lily's beautiful emerald-green eyes to James's sexy midnight-blue eyes. They blushed, both thinking of how close they had been to kissing. Had they been left uninterrupted for another minute or two, James was sure he would have lost all control and begun kissing Lily breathless (He wasn't one of the "most sought-after" boys for nothing, folks). He wasn't sure whether to be relieved or disappointed the lights had returned.

       James sighed and rolled over to get off Lily, but suddenly found himself staring into those captivating green eyes again. "What---"

       Lily smiled wryly. "Remember what you--- uh--- asked before the lights disappeared? Well look down and you'll see the answer."

       James glanced down and saw that Lily's Head Girl badge had turned into a--- a lily (what else?). And James's stag was heartily munching on its petals, refusing to let go.

       Their laughter filled the compartment, bounced off the walls, and echoed through the corridors.

       It was then that Albus Dumbledore, Headmaster of Hogwarts [and many other things I won't care to mention] chose to make his appearance.

       James saw him first, as Lily was busy drowning herself in his midnight-blue eyes again and Sirius and Remus were too busy convulsing with laughter and trying to keep from falling off their seats.

       "Well, hello, Professor. How was your vacation?"

       Eyes twinkling merrily, Dumbledore replied, "It was good, James. How was yours, Lily?"

       The mentioning of her name brought Lily back down to Earth with a thump. Realizing, a bit belatedly, that it was the Headmaster she was speaking to (or rather, who had addressed her), one of the most powerful wizards in the world, Lily blushed and scrambled to get off James, conveniently forgetting the predicament they were in.

       "Yeowch! Lily! Careful!" James sat up quickly as not to get his robes ripped off. Now Lily was straddling his lap, arms loosely on his shoulders, chests brushing, and lips mere inches from his.

       The stag continued to munch happily on the lily, not displaying any sign of wanting to stop and let go at all.

       "Uhhh… Professor? Do you mid helping us out over here? We're kind of--- stuck." James smiled weakly as he said this.

       Dumbledore grinned wryly as he looked at the unlikely couple on the floor, remembering the days when he and Tabitha Waterwing, Head Boy and Head Girl in their days and mortal enemies in the yes of the entire school, would throw hexes at each other whenever they met in the halls but then dream about each other at night. If only Voldemort hadn't murdered her… (**NOTE:** See my story "Lily Evans and the Sphinx's Enigma for the Tabitha-Voldemort story; it's in Chapter 2)

       From their involuntary blushes, he could tell James and Lily were in fact enjoying the scandalous position they were in, as much as they tried not to show it, so he proceeded to take his time getting them apart (he may have looked old but he certainly wasn't senile, yet).

       "It looks like Ms. Evans here put some very powerful charms on these badges [James grimaced at this; it didn't take a genius to figure out that Lily, Charms master of Hogwarts, had done it, because James's worse subject was Charms]. And how may I ask did you two get stuck together?"

       Lily and James were too busy staring dreamily into each other's eyes (for the what? fourth time during the train ride?) to hear Dumbledore's question, much less answer it.

       Sirius cleared his throat, causing Dumbledore to glance his way. He had a brilliant idea, a great way to start their new and final year, and from the lively twinkle in the Headmaster's eyes, he was sure Dumbledore wouldn't mind a little fun. He would keep James from murdering him. Or at least Sirius fervently hoped so.

       "Uhhh, Professor? You see, Lily and James had just vowed their undying love to each other. Jamsie-boy proposed, the traditional Muggle way on one knee of course, and Lily accepted. You'll be invited to the wedding at the end of the year. Anyways--- well, you can probably guess what happened next." Sirius shook his head sadly, his long black hair flopping into his face. "Me and Remmy are scarred for life now, Prof---"

       Remus coughed loudly. Sirius turned to James and Lily, who both had identical murderous looks on their faces, and waved cheekily.

       "Yes, Mr. Black, thank you for your--- most entertaining--- rendition. I believe I'll separate James and Lily now and leave you to their mercy… _Separatus!_" Chuckling merrily to himself, Albus Dumbledore walked away. Those four never failed to amuse him.

       "Oh wait! I almost forgot!" He turned back into the room just in time to hear Lily yell "_Rictusempra!_", thus firing a Tickling Charm at Sirius, and a very powerful one at that too judging from the way Sirius was rolling on the floor and laughing so hard tears were rolling down his cheeks. He saw James and Lily give each other high-fives, and Remus dive beneath his seat (both to hide and to see how the pictures he had taken with his new camera had developed).

       "Ms. Evans, would you kindly spare Mr. Black for a moment? I'll let you get back to torturing him in a second after I deliver this important announcement."

       "Of course, Headmaster." The calm, sophisticated, determined Lily was back, replacing the furiously blushing Lily who had been in a most interesting position atop her "mortal enemy" a minute ago. Dumbledore was almost disappointed (even though that was the 'proper' way for a Hogwarts Head Girl to act)--- he needed some cheering up at this moment and these four were always the best at it.

       "After the feast, would all of you please remain in the Great Hall? I would like to address the 7th years on matters concerning, well, you'll find out soon enough. Now you may continue---"

       A second after the words had escaped his lips, Sirius was back laughing and gasping for breath on the floor and Remus was back under the compartment seat.

       _Ah, the joys of youth_, thought Dumbledore sadly. _Many take it for granted nowadays. However, we will need youngsters like these to bring cheer to us again after I have made the announcement. Perhaps I should ask Minerva to spare the detention slips this year…_ (which would be to James's and Sirius's utter disappointment, as they were planning to collect the most detention slips (James had access to plenty of them, too, since he was Head Boy) ever in Hogwarts's history and shredding and sprinkling them in the Great Hall as confetti during the end-of-the-year feast).

       With that last thought, Dumbledore turned and left the room.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Well, how was that? Very long, in my opinion. Extremely long. And I know I didn't get anywhere with this, and I'm sorry about that. Chapter 2 will be up soon, and I think the plot will finally move along. It's not as fluffy or stupid as it seems. THIS WILL ACTUALLY HAVE A PLOT.

Please review with anything you would like to say, or you can email me at sherlock718@hotmail.com

And if you haven't already, check out my other two stories, "Invisible Barriers" and "Lily Evans and the Sphinx's Enigma".

REVIEW!!!!             HHj      


	2. The Magical Camera That Sees in the Dark

**Okay, I lied, You are going to see a Disclaimer here:** I must put a disclaimer because even though I have no qualms over J.K. Rowling earning millions from Harry Potter, Inc., I do if someone takes my song. It's not the most creative thing in the world, but it's still mine. To make a long story short so I don't have to waste time and money suing someone, the Hogwarts song below belongs to me, and me only. If you want to use it, ask me in your review. Kapish?

Thanks for the reviews, guys. I need major help on the summary… anyone willing to help? I know, this plot's not the most exciting thing in the world yet, but it should get better. I know it's not as original as Invisible Barriers and LESE (for all of you that have read and reviewed both, ::grins and salutes you with a banana:: If you haven't, shame on you. The Mad Monkey with the Magnifying Glass knows who you are and will track you down), but the flying toaster and badge-catastrophe thingy were entirely my idea. I try not to write clishe-ish stories, but sometimes…

Why am I blabbing? ::looks horrified:: Proceed. J

Chapter 2: The Magical Camera That Sees in the Dark 

            "Ah, the new year has started again. Let us welcome it with the school song!" Dumbledore gave his wand a little flick, and out spurted clouds of rainbow-colored glitter, which rose high above the tables and began to form itself into words.

            "Everyone choose their favorite tune," said the Headmaster with a very wide, un-Headmaster-like grin, "and off we go!"

            And the school bellowed:

"Hogwarts, Hogwarts, Harty Woggy Hogwarts,

Enlighten us if you please,

With potions, charms, stars, and spells,

And how to dot our t's.

Fill our tiny little craniums

With loads of funky stuff,

'Cause right now, all there is

Are dust bunnies and bits of fluff.

So teach us, teachers, all you know,

Endure a little bit of pain,

But if you do your job then we'll do the rest

And learn till we go insane."

            Soon, only Sirius, Remus, and James were left wailing the song to a pitifully slow funeral march.

            Finally, they finished, climbed up onto their table, and bowed to the applause in the Great Hall (from everyone but the Slytherins, who rebelliously kept their hands still and booed).

            "Yes, the new year has officially begun. Now will prefects lead their houses to bed, please?"

            In five minutes, only the forty seventh-years and the teachers remained in the Great Hall.

            Dumbledore stood up, his old, wise face expressionless. With a flick of his wand he barricaded the doors from any listening spells, then said, "Thank you for remembering, all of you. What will be said here must be kept in extreme confidentiality, understood?"

            After each student nodded, he continued. "I will not mince any words, for I want you to realize the seriousness of this affair, so forgive me for my brashness. Voldemort and his Death Eaters are back."

            A collective gasp sounded from the hall, and some Slytherins began to mutter and confer amongst themselves.

            "Silence, please. As the senior students of Hogwarts, you are expected to help protect the interests of your school. It is believed the incident today on the Hogwarts Express is a Death Eater's failed attempt to blow up the train." Again he was interrupted by students' sobbing and horrified reluctance to accept what was in front of them.

            Professor McGonagall, the 43-yr. old Transfiguration teacher and head of Gryffindor House, became immensely annoyed and frustrated. _These are supposed to be 7th years! I swear, they act like first years! Sobbing and screaming---_ It became too much for her to bear. She stood up and screamed at the top of her lungs, "EVERYBODY SHUT UP!"

            The Great Hall silenced immediately.

            "Uhh… thank you, Professor McGonagall. As I said before, as 7th years you are responsible for the safety and protection of Hogwarts and the young witches and wizards here. Professor Thestral, our new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher, will concentrate on training you in combat against the Dark side. He will be using the Forbidden Forest as an aid---"

            Severus Snape, a greasy Slytherin who had sported a particularly strong grudge against the Marauders since their first year, stood up. "Go into the Forest? No, Professor, I refuse. Wait till my father hears about this---" Snape's father, Fido Snape, was the school governor.

            "You scared, Snape?" sneered Sirius. The three Marauders (Peter Pettigrew, the fourth Marauder, was uncommonly absent; he was not on the train, and as far as they knew, not in Hogwarts at the time) began to laugh heartily.

            Snape's ears started to turn red. "Shut up, Black! You're a bloody delinquent! I guarantee you'll be in Azkaban before you turn 30! You---"

            James calmly stood up, and the Transfiguration master he was, flicked his wand once and turned Snape into a weasel.

            The entire Great Hall erupted into chaos as the slimy weasel raced over the tables. The teachers watched, exasperated yet extremely amused. Mr. Fido Snape and his spoiled only son Severus were alike in looks and mannerisms--- their hair was literally coated with axle grease, a slight, disdainful sneer was perpetually painted on their faces, and they gave themselves airs, thinking they owned the castle and that everyone else was their servants. In fact, last year Severus Snape was failing DADA due to his own lack of talent, so he complained to his dear daddy, who in turn twisted arms until they broke so Severus would pass and terrorized Professor Schmidt until he resigned. On the other hand, James Harold Potter was brought up in a middle-class family of excellent wizards, Hogwarts's Head Boy and Captain of the Gryffindor Quidditch team, he excelled in all of his subjects (esp. Transfiguration but perhaps excluding Charms), he was handsome enough and had a charm unique to his own personality to make girls swoon over him, and he was always kind and valiant--- in simplest terms, a girl's dream, her Prince Charming, her knight in shining armor, etc. He was a model student, though he tended to get into arguments and duels with Lily Evans (which usually resulted in one or both of them going to the Hospital Wing to be submitted to the new nurse Madam Pomfrey's creative cures) and get into trouble for one of his many pranks.

            As Snape the weasel ran over the tables, food flying everywhere, Remus spotted something by Snape's chair which made him both grin and want to throw up.

            It was a pile of clothes--- everything from robes to…_undies???_ (A/N: Eeeewww!! They're probably greasy too! Yuck! ::hurls in the invisible bushes:: Now back to the story)

            Remus developed a diabolical gleam in his eyes. He leaned over to whisper something in Sirius's ear, who started to laugh hysterically. He managed to calm down enough to relay it to James, who grinned and laughed silently, dreamy midnight blue eyes flashing.

            A blond-haired Ravenclaw thought he was flirting with her and swooned, toppling her chair backwards.

            James swished his wand once causing Snape's clothes to disintegrate and the weasel, currently on the High Table in front of Professor McGonagall, to turn back into a human.

            A human without clothes.

            "AAAAAAHHHHHH!!!!!" Professor McGonagall screamed as she fainted dead away.

            "_Eeeeeewwwwww---_" the entire Great Hall said as they turned away and covered their eyes.

            Severus Snape, esteemed son of the school governor, just froze, hands going immediately to his privates. (A/N: Cough cough) But not before two pictures were developing inside Remus's camera.

            As it spit the pictures out, the camera wheezed, "You bad boy, taking pictures like this with me. I'm scarred for life now. I need to erase those pictures out of my mind, so I'm printing out another copy of that other beautiful little picture you took before. It was so sweet, you know, the boy and girl on---"

            "Remus, don't tell me you---" James glared at Remus as he interrupted the old camera. "You--- you took a picture of--- of---"

            "HELP!!!" cried the camera as Lily seized it by the strap, an odd combination of emotions radiating from her (mostly embarrassment, some anger, and brief flickers of _pleasure?????_). "HELP ME!!!!"

            Lily started to shred the strap, but stopped dead in her tracks when Remus waved a picture in front of her face. It was a picture of her and James when he had first landed on her--- her hands resting on his shoulders, his hands gently cradling her head, their eyes locked together, and their mouths perilously close. Just seeing that incident over again in her mind made her shiver involuntarily, feeling James's muscles beneath her hands and his hands lightly caressing her face…

            "But I was sure that took place in the dark. No flash went off," said James calmly.

            "I can see through the dark, dearie," the camera said smugly.

            Lily was smiling dreamily, appearing to be in a trance or lost in another world. James glanced at her and thought, _I wonder what she's thinking. Only God_ [and the authors and readers, of course] _will ever know._

            "A penny for your thoughts, Evans?" asked Sirius.

            Lily was unfazed, still floating on a cloud and thinking… thoughts.

            Remus grinned at James and Sirius. "If this won't bring her back,  nothing else will." He waved what looked like a picture around in the air. "Hey, everybody, look at this!"

            James was about to dive onto Remus for the picture when he realized it was merely a blank decoy. He grinned--- he knew his friend wouldn't do something _that_ bad; the actual picture would utterly disgrace Hogwarts's Head Boy and Girl. A Marauder would never betray or blackmail one of their own, but people like Snape--- well, that was an entirely different matter.

            Just as Remus predicted, Lily fell back down to reality with a _thump_. "Wha--- Remus Lupin, you wouldn't dare! Give that here right now!"

            Remus grinned cheekily and waved the picture--- well, decoy--- far above his head. "Come and get it!" As one of the tallest boys at Hogwarts (he was about 180 cm, or 6 ft. for those of you who don't know metrics), he stood a foot taller than Lily. The extra arm-length didn't help matters either.

            Lily didn't waste time sulking. "_Accio picture!_" The picture wrenched itself free of Remus's grip and flew down to land on Lily's outstretched palm. When she saw it was a decoy, she was relieved though furious at being tricked.

            Just as Lily lifted her wand to curse him, Remus yelled, "_Expelliarmus!_".

            Lily's wand soared through the air as the teachers and other 7th years looked on in amusement--- watching the Head Girl and Charms master duel with one of the best in the school at DADA (also a mischief maker and friend of Lily's supposed enemy) was entertaining.

            Not thinking clearly, her brain clouded with fury, Lily turned to the person closest to her--- James--- and snatched his wand. She then turned to Remus and shouted, "_Wingardium Leviosa!_"

            Much to her surprise--- and everyone else's, including the teachers'--- Remus started to rise. _The spell worked? With James Potter's wand when I'm not even compatible with Ariel's or Arabella's? No, it's only the materials, it doesn't mean anything---_

            Little did Lily know that Dumbledore was thinking the exact same thing. _Lily Evans is compatible with James Potter's wand. That can only mean one of two things, but I bet I know which one it is. The Head Girl and Head Boy, supposedly mortal enemies. Why didn't I ever think of that? Well, actually, I did, on the train, but anyway--- They're just much too alike to realize what everyone else already has. This year should definitely be interesting. "Lily Potter" has a nice ring to it…_

            Lily was planning on bringing Remus down before he hit the ceiling, but when she saw Severus Snape run out the door clutching a make-shift towel around his waist, she cracked up, all thoughts and intentions flying out of her mind.

            _Thump!_ "Ouch!" cried Remus from high up above. "Could someone please get me down? It's cold up here."

            No one heard him, as they were all convulsing with laughter and gasping for breath at the same time.

            It took three tries before Arabella Figg, one of Lily's best friends, a fellow Gryffindor known for her sharp tongue and flashing black eyes, and Remus's rival in DADA, heard him. Her mouth twitched (she had never smiled since her parents had been murdered by Voldemort five years ago; the mouth-twitching was the closest to a smile she would ever get) as she brought out her wand, pointed it at Remus, and muttered, "_Finite Incantatem!_"

            Remus began to plummet down, gathering speed, force, and momentum each second. "AAAAAHHHHHH!!!!"

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Well… that was a long chapter too. It's a sucky ending, but it will have to do because its 2 in the morning and my hands feel like they're going to fall off. 

Yes, it really didn't have a point. It will in the next chapter. Please review and tell me what you think.

Again, anything, just email me at sherlock718@hotmail.com

You can always write a longer review…  


	3. In Which Wormtail is a Nosy Idiot (Among...

**^_^ No disclaimer here this time!**

Sorry for the very long delay. I've just uploaded a new story and begun planning a book, so I haven't had much time to write this story. I hope this chapter is worth the wait!

I won't blab much this time. This chapter begins to introduce the plot, but doesn't really get to the point. I was going to do that in this chapter, but I decided not to because the chapter would be too long, so it will be in Chapter 4.

Anyways, here it is!

**Chapter 3: In Which Wormtail is a Nosy Idiot (Among other things)**

            Dumbledore quickly jumped up, whipped out his wand, and swished it, muttering something. Remus slowed down--- and fell on top of none other than his rival Arabella Figg.

            "Ack! Get off me!"

            Remus smiled charmingly up at Arabella's quickly becoming-red face. "No, I don't believe I will. Your lap is rather comfortable."

            "I'll hex you!"

            "You try."

            "Hey," Sirius muttered out of the corner of his mouth, "look at this. What a cute picture."

            "Not any more," Lily pointed out tactfully. Remus's hair was frozen and leeks were sprouting out of his ears, and Arabella was on the floor trying to curse him but failing from laughing so hard.

            Amused, Dumbledore stood up. "_Finite Incantatem_." Remus's head returned to normal and Arabella stopped laughing, and they stared daggers at each other before turning their heads away, pointedly refusing to look at each other. Lily laughed, elbowing Sirius in the ribs--- they were pouting like a bunch of 6 year olds. "Thank you all for tonight's entertainment," said Dumbledore. When no one said anything and the silence was becoming unbearable, he smiled weakly and continued. "Please don't fret about what I told you tonight, and please do not tell anyone about it. We will get back to you later. Now, you may disperse to your respective dormitories, but will the Head Boy, Mr. Black, and Mr. Lupin please stay for a moment?"

            As Lily walked out, she smirked her infamous "I-told-you-so smirk" at the boys, who simultaneously stuck out their tongues at her, as was their wont.

            Soon, after all the students left, the teachers began yawning. The boys raised their eyebrows at each other and tried to hold in their laughter as Professor McGonagall ambled sleepily through the doorway, accidentally crashing head-on into the door. Professor Thestral, the former Auror and new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher, stumbled twice over the table legs, the second time tripping and falling flat on his face in front of Professor Tibbet, the pretty Arithmancy teacher, causing her to trip over him. Professor Flitwick, the fairly young but extremely short Charms teacher who had just come to Hogwarts last year, was squeaking something in his high voice to Professor Kettleburn, the Care of Magical Creatures teacher, and not looking where he was going, so he too joined the catastrophic pile-up on the floor. When Professor Trelawney, the widely despised Divination teacher who gave herself airs, tripped over Professor Kettleburn's leg and crashed into a table while muttering something in her lofty voice about "such incomplete, pitiful auras", the three boys lost all control and began laughing hysterically. Remus quickly pulled out his camera and began snapping pictures, which James and Sirius snatched up and laughed even harder over, as the teachers' actions were even more ridiculous in the photos.

            Finally only James, Sirius, and Remus were left. When they saw Dumbledore walk down from the High Table, Remus quickly stashed the camera and photos beneath his cloak, and they turned to the descending Headmaster with the most solemn and pitiful (which was not very, as you can imagine) expressions they could manage. Their trademark puppy-faces had wormed them out of trouble once or twice, and it couldn't hurt to try them on the Headmaster.

            Dumbledore laughed when he saw their faces. Before anyone could open his mouth, he said, "No, boys, you aren't in trouble. I'd like to ask all of you a favor concerning--- Lily Evans."

            When James jumped slightly at the mention of Lily's name, Dumbledore grinned. "Yes, Mr. Potter. Our Head Girl, Lily Evans. What I am going to tell you may or may not come as a surprise. You know Lily is Muggle-born, right?"

            They nodded silently, and the Headmaster continued.

            "Well, because she is Muggle-born and an _extremely_ powerful witch, none other than Voldemort himself wants her on his side. I think we all know Lily well enough to say that there is no way she will join him. He will stop at nothing to get her, of course, but if all fails, you know his motto--- if he doesn't get her, no one else will." Dumbledore paused momentarily, waiting for the news to absorb. He knew he had been blunt, painfully blunt in telling that to those he knew cared about her, but he had never been one to mince words and he thought it would be easier for them to absorb. Even if they were troublemakers, they were responsible, intelligent, and very powerful wizards. They were right for the job.

"You and I both know you all are very powerful wizards." They smiled faintly at this (for the Headmaster was not known for being free with praise), but as this was an inappropriate situation to smile, they quickly wiped their faces clean of any happiness, leaving three very solemn, determined boys. "Would it be too much to ask for if I asked you to help protect her? Lily would be a valuable asset to the Ministry or the task force of Aurors. We can't afford to--- lose her."  

            The last sentence was enunciated slowly and clearly to let the seriousness of the matter sink in. Lily could be killed.

            Dumbledore looked at the grim and determined expressions on their faces and knew he had been right to chose them. They would fight to the death for her, though he had no intention of letting anyone get hurt, much less die.

            "Why did you pick us, Professor?"

            Dumbledore's eyes twinkled. "You all seem to be rather close to Lily, especially you, Mr. Head Boy." When he winked roguishly at James, James felt himself blushing furiously. "It may or may not help you by bringing this up to a more personal level, but if it does interfere, you can of course ask me to withdraw. Do you think it will it be a problem, gentlemen?"

            When they all shook their heads, the Headmaster continued. "I have not deemed it necessary to move Lily to the boys' dorm yet, but should the present condition of the situation worsen, I may have to. Unless all of you would like to move to the girls' dorm?"

            Sirius snorted. "No problem, Professor. Jamsie here tiptoes in and out of the girls' dorm nightly anyways." When James glared daggers at him, Sirius winked cheekily and continued. "He goes to gaze longingly at his true love---"

            Even Remus, who had fought to keep a straight face thorough the entire ordeal, could not restrain his laughter when he saw James's pink-becoming-red face. He was hissing "Shut up!" at Sirius while signaling "I swear I'll get him later" to Remus.

            The Headmaster just smiled knowingly at James, who blushed even harder and muttered something unintelligible under his breath.

            "Well, I think that's it for tonight. I will inform you if anything new arises. Oh, one last thing, boys--- I would appreciate it if you didn't mention this to anyone, especially Lily. As far as I know, she doesn't know that Voldemort is after her, and I would like to keep it that way. Alright, boys?"

            With that, the three nodded and turned to leave.

~*~*~

            When they were out of earshot, Sirius turned to them and asked incredulously, "What? I thought our performance in the Great Hall merited two detentions each, at least. Now I'll never reach my goal," he added mournfully.

            The three laughed at Sirius's heartfelt claims of woe and began to walk towards Gryffindor Tower.

~*~*~ 

            Up in the seventh year boys' dormitory, Remus, James, and Sirius sat around on their respective beds, clad in only their boxers.

            "Hey, Prongs, now you have a good excuse to get all close to Lily-honey---"

            "Oh, shut up, Padfoot," said a blushing James. "Don't forget that I'm doing this to protect her." He hesitated momentarily, then added quietly, "I would lay my life on the line for her."

            The room grew quiet. "That much, James?" asked Remus softly.

            James was about to answer when a panting Peter Pettigrew (A/N: DIE, Wormtail, DIE!!! Ah, as you hopefully noticed, the author does not like Pettigrew very much, but has no choice but to put the loser scumball in) crashed through the door, rambling on and on about something and completely oblivious to the fact that Sirius and Remus were glaring at him for interrupting James.

            "Hey guys! My dad couldn't give me a ride to King's Cross, so he flew me here later on his brand-new Shooting Star. You haven't done any pranks yet, have you? Wait! What am I saying? Of course you haven't done anything yet, because you can't without me! Ha! So---" Pettigrew kept talking animatedly, his fat chest swollen with his exaggerated sense of self-importance.

            Sirius could barely conceal his contempt. Pettigrew _obviously_ thought that they--- the Marauders--- had chosen him as a member for his _extreme_ cunning and intelligence. Truth be told, it was only out of pity. He was of practically no use to them whatsoever. The number of times he had gotten them caught were countless, yet each time he would refuse to admit it was his fault and go blaming something else. There were times--- like this one--- where Sirius truly wanted to kick Peter out of the Marauders and beat him on his pudgy, empty head with his Thunderbolt. (A/N: Go Sirius! Kick Peter's ***!)

            James stood up and stretched, interrupting Pettigrew's rambling. "Well, I'm tired. That's it for tonight, guys."

            "James---" Remus began.

            James yawned, shaking his head slightly. Remus nodded and shut up.

            "What?" Pettigrew asked, eyeing them suspiciously.

            "Nothing," said Remus, also standing up and stretching. "Good night, guys."

            "What aren't you telling me?" Pettigrew's beady eyes narrowed upon Sirius, who backed up involuntarily.

            Rather than answer Peter, Sirius yawned (or should I say _howled_?) exaggeratedly and crawled beneath the covers, hugging his stuffed poodle Dinny to his chest.

            Grumbling, Peter stalked over to his bed and began to change into his nightgown. _What weren't they telling him?_

~*~*~

            "What's going on, guys?"

            "Nothing."

~*~*~

            "What aren't you telling me?"

            "Hey, Wormtail, you've got lettuce in your teeth."

~*~*~

            "C'mon guys! I'm a Marauder too! I have a right to know what's---"

            "Hey, look! It's Snape making out with Narcissa, that blond-haired Hufflepuff! Eeew! Gross!"

~*~*~

            "Hey, guys, why are you following that girl--- what's her name--- Milly something-or-other, around like dogs?"

            "Don't forget, Wormtail--- Padfoot is a dog."

            Peter stomped off in a huff.

~*~*~

            Lily too noticed something odd about the three boys. At least one of them, though usually two or all three, was always in sight wherever she went.

            She supposed they could have been part of her previously non-existent fan club--- boys who drooled, made lovesick faces at her, and followed her everywhere pledging eternal love whenever she was within hearing distance--- but it really didn't fit. There was _something_ about the way they shadowed her--- something like duty---

            Lily laughed. _Duty?_ Why would it be anyone's duty--- much less _theirs_--- to follow her? She giggled, imagining the three of then in polished armor riding atop unicorns and brandishing their wands to protect her, the young innocent maiden, from the big bad werewolf (that was how wizard fairytales went).

            No, she mused, they were different. Even the teachers treated them differently--- at least once a day, Professor McGonagall rounded up Lily's fan club and gave them a stern scolding about their lovesick behavior (not that it did much to deter her suitors), but she never even once chastised James, Sirius, or Remus. It was as if there was one major conspiracy going on, one Lily had no idea whatsoever about.

~*~*~

            "Hey, guys, why are you following me?" Lily decided to face them once and for all. She had been about to take a stroll by the lake when she spotted the three of them following her not-quite-inconspicuously.

            "Following you? Lily my dear, I have no idea what you are talking about. We merely wanted to take a walk outside, because of the _beautiful_ weather, and you just happened to be here."

            Lily felt her anger rise. "Sirius Black, I am not stupid. Either you tell me right now or one night my hand will _accidentally_ slip some Veritaserum into your pumpkin juice. So what will it be, sir?"

            Sirius gulped. "Ah…" He didn't doubt for a minute that Lily would do that, and if anything about Remus or their becoming Animagi got out, they would be in so much trouble, but Dumbledore had told them not to tell her. Sirius cast Remus a pleading look for help.

            "Ummm, Lily…"

            "Remus, stay out of this. Well, Mr. Black?"

            When Sirius continued to stutter, Lily threw up her hands in exasperation and turned on James. "Care to clear this up, Mr. Head Boy?"

            "Ah…"

            Then, Sirius regained his composure. He threw a half-smirk, half- apologetic grin at James, then cleared his throat. "Jamsie-boy here won't tell you anything, Lily my dear---"

            "Since when did I become 'Lily my dear'?"

            Sirius quirked an eyebrow. "Since two minutes ago. Or would you prefer 'Lily darling' or 'Lily honey'? I don't suppose you would like 'Lily baby'? Then again, I can hear James calling you---"

            James turned a pinkish color and began to cough loudly, making Remus snicker.

            Glancing at James, Sirius grinned even wider while Lily tapped her foot impatiently, wondering what in the world was going on. "You see, Lily---" began Sirius in a tone one would use with a stubborn child to coax him into doing something.

            "No, I don't see, Sirius Black. Get to the point," Lily snapped.

            Trying to look bored, James reached inside his cloak and brought out his specially customized Moony, Padfoot, and Prongs's Bouncing Ball, which he began to toss leisurely up and down. He, Sirius, and Remus had developed these in their third year after their Charms professor had taught them Exploding Charms--- if someone dropped the ball, it would create a very loud and messy explosion (with the help of some Filibuster Fireworks and Dungbombs) and throw out random charms, spells, and hexes.

            "--- yes, my dear Lily, getting to the point, ah, Jamsie-boy here---"

            Up went the ball, shrieking and giggling madly. On its way down, James deftly caught it with a slight flourish of his wrist (one he had developed to make his catching of the Snitch during Quidditch games even more dramatic), spun around like a magician at his most showy, and tossed it up again. He wasn't worried at all about the situation--- if Sirius could worm their way out of detention, he most certainly could get them out of this little predicament. He would probably say they were going down to the lake to tickle the giant squid, that they were looking for Remus's lost camera (it actually _was_ lost--- well, not really, because James had hidden it in the Head Boy/Girl's bathroom in retribution), or something like that. Up went the ball, and James spun around, hand outstretched to snatch the ball on its way down---

            "--- is head-over-heels in love with you. Remus and I just follow him around to make sure he doesn't walk off the edge of a cliff in his blind love searching for you---" Sirius winked. "---and we have to act as his chaperones when he does find you."

            Half-way through his twirl, James froze at hearing that. _Poof!_ Remus's, Sirius's, and Lily's laughter mingled with the little ball's shrieks of glee as James was showered with ashes and Dungbombs.

            "Any moment now---" gasped Sirius between fits of hysterical laughter, "---the ball will start throwing out random spells and curses. Let's see what James gets. We've entered in some good ones, like the Curse of the Bogies and---"

            "_Crucio!_" a voice roared.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Well, we got somewhat closer to the real plot with that. This chapter provided the background information. 

Please do review and tell me what you think of this. Ah--- is the ending a cliffie? Sorry about that then; I just thought I would end it there because I thought it… provoked some thought. ^_^

60 reviews for the next chapter! Yes, that is a bit much, but I do need time to write it.

**A NOTE TO ALL MY FELLOW AUTHORS/READERS OUT THERE:** Does the penname 'Strawberry KoolAid', now changed to "Mr. Shingles" ring a bell? All she does is flame people unnecessarily and write L/J things (they don't count as fanfiction stories, trust me) that are absolutely outrageous, horrid, and degrading. If you don't know what I mean, read her stuff. It would be for the best if we could kick her out of the ff.net community. And if you are reading this, Strawberry KoolAid, I hope you see how much we all love you. 

She was originally on ff.net as "Seapooper", then changed to "Radio Tower", then changed to "the ice cream perveyor", but we got her kicked off. However, she just uploaded the same pathetic, disgusting stories under her new penname with different titles and summaries.

One thing, pay no attention to her if she flames you. She's just jealous, plain and simple. Two, contact me somehow (review or e-mail) if you want to help us try to kick her off ff.net. We've already got together a nice little task force, specifically for the purpose of ridding ff.net of the most disgusting, perverted, mentally- deranged people. 

=^_^= Merlin's Quill


	4. In Which 4 C's are discovered

This chapter doesn't include as much as I had hoped, because if it did, it would be too long. This gets some part of it, but not a lot. It just clears up some stuff, introduces some new characters, and reintroduces Ariel Silvershay. 

NOTE: I used Ariel in my other story, Invisible Barriers, but these two stories are not related. Ariel is technically not the same person, I just like her name. ^_^ She is a different person, with different looks, a different personality, and different problems…

Also: There's a quote from Tamora Pierce here. It's not direct, but it's basically the same. A big yellow digital banana and special recognition to anybody who picks it out, and tells me in their review! ::pointed look::

Chapter 4: In which four C's are discovered (curses, chases, catastrophes, and compatibility)

            James dropped like a log to the floor and curled up into a ball, rocking and twitching with pain. Sirius, Remus, and Lily looked on, horrified.

            "We never put that curse in there," whispered Sirius in a trembling voice. He sank down to the ground, apparently in a state of shock.

            James's whimpers of pain tore at Lily's heart, and she rushed to his side. His face was drawn and white with pain, his eyes and jaw clenched shut, as he rocked back and forth on the ground.

"Sirius! Remus!" Lily cried, tears gathering at the corners of her eyes as she threw her arms around James, partly in an effort to keep him still and partly due to some compelling urge she did not understand. "Do something!"

Remus glanced at Sirius, saw that he would be no help in his condition, and decided to take matters into his own hands. He was about to dive onto James and help Lily restrain him, because he could not think of any other useful thing to do, when he noticed that the bouncing ball was suspended in the air by an invisible air, twitching exactly like James. It was as if they were mirror images of each other.

Frowning, Remus tried to recall what Professor Kopf, the DADA teacher they had had in their sixth year, had taught them about symbolism magic. Symbolism magic was where one object was used to represent another, a fairly well-known example being a voodoo doll.

_"A Substitution Spell cast on an object with the essence of another object (called the original) will render that object a substitute. Any spell, action, or physical damage done to the substitute by the spell-caster will be relayed to the original. The spell can only be broken by the spell-caster, but it will also be terminated if the substitute is destroyed. Substitution Spells are extremely difficult to trace, hence they are favored by those who wish others harm, namely Death Eaters. It seems too good to be true, doesn't it? A perfect tool for murder— a tidy way to blow up objects— often impossible to trace back to the spell-caster— If it was that good, people would be murdered and things blown up every minute. We humans are fickle and temperamental; we often react without thinking once we are seized by a passionate emotion, such as anger. However, our natures have been provided for, because Substitution Spells are complex and intricate, and if they are not cast correctly, the effects are often fatal to the spell-caster and possibly those around him. It takes a fully-trained wizard with extreme power to cast a proper and effective Substitution Spell. It is like the Killing Curse, but perhaps more serious. If you stood up and shouted "Avada Kedavra!" at me, I would probably get a nosebleed, or at most, be knocked unconscious. However, if one of you so much as tried a Substitution Spell right now, there is a 99% chance that **you** would be killed, though there are some of you here," Professor Kopf said slowly, swiveling his head around to pin Lily, James, Sirius, and Remus with a steady, beady-eyed gaze, "who could pull it off, I imagine, with the training you have now." He knew the three boys often snuck into the Restricted Section of the library under Mr. Potter's Invisibility Cloak to pore over advanced books for hours at a time (he would not so much as bat an eyelash if one of them stood up and performed a flawless Substitution Spell right now, even though he had not and would not touch upon the tedious procedure), and Miss Lily Evans— with her natural talent, brains, and power, she had enough potential to do anything she wished. These four, together, once they became fully-trained, could very well be unstoppable in whatever task they wished to fulfill; he only hoped it would not be to further the ambitions of the Dark Side, but being Gryffindors, as he himself had once been, hell would freeze over before one of them became a Death Eater. "Voldemort is particularly known for his flawless command of Substitution Spells…"_ (A/N: For those of you who have read one of my other stories, Invisible Barriers, there is a hint in this paragraph about the ending of Chapter 16. Chapter 17 should be up soon, but I haven't finished it because I've been working on this story. I don't know if you will see the significance of the hint, but let me tell you I was pretty surprised when I read my reviews, because of your guesses… Oh, if your guess of the body changes, tell me in your review. If you're right, I'll give you a cookie. ^_^)

Remus froze. _Voldemort? Holy shit! But then again, he couldn't be in Hogwarts— or could he?_

"Remus, for God's sakes, do something!" Lily's tearful cry yanked him back to his senses. He had to destroy that wretched ball to stop the Substitution Spell, but how? He paused, trying to think of a spell.

"Remus, dammit, what the hell are you doing? This is clearly Dark Magic, and you're one of the top students in DADA!"

"Lily, I know I have to destroy that ball, but I don't know what spell to use! It's like my brain has gone dead! Help me think!" cried Remus, about as frantic as Lily as he racked his brain for a spell he had enough power to cast.

"Shit," Lily muttered. She let loose with a passionate volley of curses. Remus winced— Lily hardly ever swore out loud.

Suddenly the stream of words halted. "Remus, there's one curse I remembered reading about that blasts apart small objects. What's it called?"

Remus smacked his forehead with his palm. "Of course! The Reductor Curse!" He reached inside the fold of his robe for his wand, but— 

"Crap! Lily, I left my wand in the dormitory!"

"_REMUS!_"

"Here, Lily, you have your wand, right? I'll help hold James, and you Accio my wand, okay?"

"Can't Sirius do something? Anyway, what _is_ Sirius doing?"

They both stole a glance at Sirius. He was curled up on the grass, hugging his knees to his chest, pale and tight-lipped from shock. "He's in no condition to do anything, Lily," said Remus quietly.

"No shit, Sherlock," snapped Lily, trying to act strong and using anger as a shield to hide her pain. "What are you waiting from? Get over here and help restrain James!"

Once Remus hurried over to do her bidding, Lily whipped out her wand, pointed it in the general direction of the seventh year Gryffindor boys' dormitory, and shouted, "_Accio wand!_"

A wand came flying through the air to land in Lily's outstretched palm. "Here," she said, handing it to Remus.

Remus, panting with the effort of restraining James and not thinking clearly, gasped, "You do it."

"Remus! Remember third year when I tried to use your wand? We're not compatible! My wand's not good with curses, and besides, I don't know the spell. Quick, just switch places with me and blast that cursed ball to hell and beyond!"

"Oh, fine."

Three seconds later, Remus had the wand pointed at the little ball, which was rolling and twitching in midair. "_Reducto!_" he shouted.

A blast of light burst from the end of the wand, skimmed the surface of the ball, and made a hole roughly the size of a soccer ball in a rosebush, making the pixies chatter angrily.

"Damn your aim!" Lily shouted. "Try again!"

The second time resulted in another hole and another heartfelt curse from Lily. Finally, the third blast of light hit its target, and the ball exploded.

James abruptly stopped twitching from pain. He lay on the grass, panting heavily from exhaustion. Remus and Lily leaned over him, faces creased with worry.

Finally, with some prodding, James cracked open an eyelid. Two faces swam blurrily above him, but the sight of one of them invoked a warm feeling deep down inside. "Lily?" he whispered.

Remus snorted, though inwardly, he was pleased (it was time these two got together). "What about me, James? I'm here too, you know," whined Remus, trying [but failing] to sound wounded. He sniffed, pretending to be hurt that James was only noticing Lily. "Fine, James. I can tell you only have eyes for your ladylove. I'll just leave you in peace, shall I?"

Remus started to get up, but James laughed weakly and reached out a hand to stop him, silently wincing at the pain that shot through his body from that simple movement. "I'm sorry, Moony. Hello to you too, then. Now will one of you please tell me what happened, and explain why I feel like I've been kicked and beaten all over?" He tried to sit up, gritting his teeth as daggers of pain sliced through his body. Lily noticed this, conjured a fluffy down pillow, and pushed him back down.

"You really don't remember, James?" asked Remus.

James closed his eyes and knit his brows together, trying to remember. His hair was sticking out at odd angles all over his head, making him look so adorable that Lily couldn't refrain from running her hands through it gently. When Remus raised an eyebrow at her, his brown eyes dancing mischievously, Lily realized what she was doing, blushed hotly, and quickly withdrew her hand.

Remus was about to slyly say something when James opened his eyes again and said slowly, "I don't remember too much. The last thing I recall is that wretched little ball exploding."

Remus grinned wickedly. "And do you remember why the ball exploded on you? Tsk tsk, James. You shouldn't have missed it."

James frowned. "It wasn't my fault. I was frozen from shock because Sirius said I— REMUS!!!" This time it was James's turn to blush as he muttered something unintelligible under his breath, carefully averting his eyes from Lily's gaze.

Remus couldn't help it— he started laughing. Both James and Lily were turning red at an alarming rate, and they were trying so hard not to look at anyone. They were just too alike to realize they liked each other— or maybe more than 'like'…

"Remus. _Remus. REMUS!_" James gave an exasperated sigh when Remus kept on laughing and bore no sign of hearing James call his name.

Lily grinned. "Let me." She leaned over and smacked Remus soundly on the head.

"Ow!" Remus stopped laughing and rubbed his head. "What was that for?"

"Moony, you got up to the part where the stupid ball exploded. Stop laughing and tell me why I hurt so much. What happened next?" asked James impatiently.

"Umm…" Remus gulped and looked uncertainly at Lily. There was no other way to say it. "The ball performed the Cruciatus Curse."

Whatever color James's face originally had disappeared, and he turned a pale, deadly white. We never put that curse in there," he whispered, half to them and half to himself.

"I know," said Remus simply— no further words were needed. If his mind was clear about one thing, it was that James and Sirius weren't stupid enough to put illegal curses in the ball. "The ball looked like it was under a Substitution Spell."

"Substitution Spell? That thing Professor Kopf talked about last year? But who could do that? Not many people have access to the ball, and it takes a lot of training and power to cast one that works and doesn't kill you."

"Peter," a cold voice hissed softly. Lily, Remus, and James jumped. Sirius had come up behind them without noticing.

"What about Peter, Padfoot?"

"He did it."

Everyone stared at Sirius incredulously.

Remus stood up and laid a hand on Sirius's forehead experimentally. "Are you feeling okay, Padfoot?"

Sirius brushed off Remus's hand angrily. "I'm serious!"

James smiled weakly. "We know you are."

Sirus turned on James, black eyes glowering. "_I AM NOT JOKING!_" he shouted, loud enough so that some first years walking outside turned around to stare at him. Sirius noticed this and gave them the middle finger, and they ran off. "_How many people have access to the programmer?_"

James sat up and looked at Sirius. "Peter's our friend and a fellow marauder. Why would he do such a thing? You know, Padfoot, I think you just have a special grudge against Peter."

An uneasy silence filled the air. James firmly believed in Peter's innocence, and he glared at Sirius. Sirius firmly believed in Peter's guilt, and he glared right back. Remus was starting to follow Sirius's logic, but his opinion was still divided. Lily had never liked Peter, and agreed with Sirius that this incident had something to do with him (though she didn't believe a weak, pitiful thing like him could cast the spell), but since it was none of her business, she kept her mouth shut. 

Finally, in a frigid, brittle voice, James said, "But how would Peter do it? We all know he doesn't have the power or knowledge to perform advanced magic."

Sirius matched glare for glare and tone for tone with James. His voice was even but deadly and patronizing. "Maybe he had _help_. Honestly, for Head Boy, you're awfully _slow_, Prongs."

Remus looked nervously from Sirius to James. This was getting out of hand. He didn't want something like this to tear apart a friendship that had survived through thick and thin for more than 6 years. He coughed loudly, breaking the silence. "Can I have my wand, Lily? It's over there."

Wordlessly Lily handed it over to him, her eyes still locked on James and Sirius, as if expecting one of them to leap for the other's throat in any second.

When Remus was pocketing his wand, he suddenly noticed something— different— about it. He brought it out again, examined it quickly, then exclaimed, "This isn't my wand!"

"No shit, Sherlock," said a dry voice a little distance away. "It's mine."

Everyone whipped their heads around to stare at Arabella Figg, who was leaning casually against a tree with a half-grin on her face and amusement dancing in her black eyes. Her mouth twitched as she took in their wide-eyed stares and the damage around them.

"Well hello to all of you too," she muttered sarcastically.

Sirius recovered quickest. He blinked, then said, "Hello, Bella darling. That's your wand? The one Remmy's gawking at?"

"It's _Arabella_, not 'Bella'," she snapped. "'Bella' is some blond, empty-headed Hufflepuff." Two passing Hufflepuffs (with blond hair, too) glared at her, and Arabella flashed them her renowned 'what's-your-problem' look. "And yes, that's my wand."

Hearing that, James's mouth twitched into a slow, devilish grin that made Lily's heart turn over and beat three times faster. "Remus and Arabella, sitting in a tree," he began to singsong, "K-I-S-S-I-N-G, first comes love—" he paused, grinning cheekily when Arabella glared at him and Remus drew his wand (or rather, Arabella's wand).

Sirius caught onto what James was doing, and momentarily forgot that they were mad at each other— right now, they had one common goal, which was to tease Remus and Arabella. "Oh Remmy, no need to show the wand. We _know_ you and Bella are compatible, no need to flaunt it. When's the wedding, Moony? And can I be Remus Jr.'s godfather?" Sirius then took off, running down the lawn and laughing like a maniac, with a bright-red Remus and a fuming Arabella behind him in hot pursuit. 

Only James and Lily were left, sitting on the grass. He leaned over, a wicked glint in his eyes, and whispered something in her ear. Lily turned red, slapped him half-heartedly across the face, and started to get up. James laughed, pulled her onto his lap, and brushed his lips gently across hers.

A camera flash went off from behind a tree.

~*~*~

(A/N: Obviously Lily and James are a couple now. I'll let you guess what he whispered into her ear. ^_^ 

I'm a horrible "James and Lily are going out" kind of writer so I'm not going to make a fool of myself, and skip most of that stuff. Just a few notes: 1) Sirius and James decided to forget their argument, 2) No one told Peter anything, 3) They are boyfriend/girlfriend now, and the whole school is ablaze with gossip. Got it?)

~*~ Around one week later ~*~

One night, the dreams started. A ghostly apparition visited her and whispered in an eerie voice, "A force stands around you/ Protect you they try/ But the Dark shall triumph/ And the animals shall die." The apparition reached towards her, and then Lily woke up, trembling beneath the covers.

She paid no heed to her nightmares, and Lily told no one, lest they should think her mad.

The second night, the whispered words became less cryptic, not even rhyming, but Lily still did not understand the meaning. "A shield protects you/ Their lives they will give for you/ But if you really love them/ Stay away…" (A/N: Okay, I know the messages were corny, and you're probably thinking 'cliché', but bear with me, ok? The dreams were necessary for the plot, and I know I'm a horrible poet, no need to rub it in)

The messages continued to come, night after night, basically saying the same thing. Lily didn't know what the messages meant, nor did she care. She was happily busy with her schoolwork and Head Girl duties, and she spent most of her free time either with her own friends or James and the Marauders, with the exception of Peter. 

One night, Peter came up to her and boldly said, "I don't like you" in a tone that implied she was supposed to actually _care_.

Lily didn't, not in the least. She looked down her nose at him and replied coolly, "Trust me, the feeling is mutual, Pettigrew."

Peter looked disappointed that Lily wasn't groveling at his feet and tearfully asking why he didn't like her and what she could do to change his mind. "But I'm James's friend."

Lily snorted. So this was the approach he was going to take? "Amazing, isn't it? I don't know how James became associated with the likes of _you_. Poor Jamsie."

Peter glowered. "I'd slap you, Evans, but I don't slap girls."

"I'd slap you, Pettigrew, but I don't slap girls either."

"You calling me a girl?"

"I did, but now I've changed my mind. Calling _you_ a girl is an insult to the female race. Talking to pathetic "its" is wasting my time. _Goodbye_, Pettigrew, and I sincerely hope I will never have to see your ugly face again." As Lily turned to walk away, a strange feeling began to gnaw at her, so she slipped her hand beneath her robe and wrapped it around her wand.

Her hunch was right. Three seconds after Lily had begun to walk away, she heard Pettigrew shout, "_Petri—_"

He never had a chance to complete the spell. Lily dodged the thin beam of light, whipped out her own wand, and said almost lazily, "_Pugnare Incantatem Mecum!_" It was a spell Lily had found and memorized in her third year from an Advanced Charms textbook in the Restricted Section of the library that would cancel a spell another person had cast if your magic was stronger than that of the other person's.

A jet of light shot out from the tip of Lily's wand, intertwined itself with the beam of light from Pettigrew's wand, and effortlessly snapped it in half. Normally, there would be a fight between both people's magic, which could go on for a long period of time, but a quick death like that signified a great difference between her power and Pettigrew's. Lily smirked, then added in a cool, disinterested voice, "Only losers and weaklings would attack a person whose back is turned." With that, she walked away.

~*~*~

This time, the dream was different. Lily was crouching behind what looked like a solid wall of people. She felt safe, loved, and secure. Suddenly, the first person dropped to his knees and began to writhe and moan with agony, One by one her protectors fell, until only three were left. They seemed to be revolving in the air, suspended by an invisible force. Lily gasped— it was like a nightmare, but not as frightening. James seemed to change back and forth from human to animal, with a speed and smoothness that made it look like he was always somewhere in between the transition, and beams of green light flew around him. Sirius was constantly shrinking and growing, looking like a rising and falling mass of dark matter, and there was something hovering above him, something resembling a midnight-black cloak and hood. Remus, however, was the scariest of them all— he was so blurred that Lily could not make out his features, but his head was thrown back and he was growling as he ripped something to shreds, spraying blood all over him, and he was enclosed in shining waves of moonlight.

As frightening as they were, Lily knew them, and she clung to them even as an invisible hand wrapped itself around her and tried to pull her away. When she would not go, a burst of light blinded her, and James, Sirius, and Remus collapsed to the ground. Smoky-grey wisps of fog— their souls— rose from their motionless bodies.

A ghostly white apparition, the same one that had been haunting her for many nights now, appeared, and began to tear apart the souls. Tears ran down Lily's face as screams echoed through the chasm. Then, the apparition turned towards Lily, and she screamed, feeling herself plummeting into the depths of the bright red eyes. "_Come to me…_"

~*~*~

James was deep in tranquil sleep, dreaming about himself… or what looked like himself. The boy flying on the broom had the same messy black hair—James's love and pride— and an identical blissful expression on his face to the one James wore whenever he was flying. However, there were differences. The boy had green eyes, and an odd lightning-shaped scar on his forehead…

A piercing scream split the night, causing James to tumble out of bed, become tangled in the scarlet-colored curtains, and hit his head on the floor. He cursed, rubbing his head, and picked his way out of the mess.

James was about to crawl back into bed and convince himself the scream was from a nightmare when he saw Sirius and Remus jump out of bed and grab their wands. _If they heard it too, then the scream wasn't from a nightmare,_ he realized. _Someone had really screamed._

Suddenly he realized why the scream had sounded so familiar. "It's Lily, guys!"

"Geez, any louder, Prongs? Wake up the whole dormitory and tell them about our assignment, why don't you?" said a bleary-eyed Sirius sarcastically.

But James was gone. He already had his wand out and was racing down the stairs, clad only in his baby ducky boxers but not noticing, much less caring.

Sirius and Remus looked at each other, glanced at Peter's bed to make sure he was still asleep, and were about to follow James when on second thought they grabbed their robes and quickly donned them. Sirius then raced out the door, but Remus (the ever-so-sensible Moony) hung back, grabbed James's robes, and brought them with him.

Sirius caught up to James at the door of the seventh year girls' dormitory. James glanced up at him, raked his hand through his hair in a gesture of frustration, and explained, "The stupid door's locked with a very powerful Locking Charm. Must be Evans's doing, as she's the best in Charms. I can't break it."

"It's recent, then. Last night I was still able to sneak in and out." Sirius grinned. "Who do you think made them scream this morning?"

"Apparently Evans thought whatever you did was my doing, because she switched the syrup with magicked ink, and I ended up with ink all over my food." James started to laugh, but he suddenly stopped and shouted, "Sirius, why the hell are we having this conversation right now? Lily could be in danger, and what are we doing? Thinking about the pranks we played! For—"

"Whoa, James, keep your hair on. I'll kick the door in, and we can explain it to Dumbledore later, okay? I haven't been taking karate over the summer for nothing! Here comes the talented Sirius Black Belt!" He started to bow, but stopped when James glowered at him.

The two of them were so wrapped up in their own little 'conversation' that they didn't notice Remus behind them, James's robes slung over one arm and his wand out in the other. Remus grinned and began to mutter a powerful countercharm he had read about to unlock the door, making sure he timed each word correctly.

Sirius backed up and took a running start. Just as he was flying through the air at the door, Remus finished the countercharm and the door swung open, causing Sirius to fly into the room. They heard a loud thump, a yelp of pain, and a muffled growl of outrage; James arched an eyebrow at Remus, who in turn put on his best "Who, me?" look.

They were about to succumb to whoops of mirth when a low, dry sob (not Sirius's though) reminded of why they were awake at such an ungodly hour in the morning. James and Remus drew their wands and rushed in.

~*~*~

James ran into the room to find a sheet-white Lily clutching at her blanket and whimpering, her green eyes wide and terrified. Arabella Figg was kneeling on the bed, holding Lily against her and rubbing her back while talking in a calm, soothing tone.

Arabella saw James by the door and abruptly stopped, just stared at him, an unreadable expression flitting across her face.

James noticed this and was about to open his mouth to snap something sarcastic [about whether he had suddenly grown two heads or not] when Remus appeared behind him and tapped him on the shoulder. James turned around and was about to snap at Remus too when he saw Remus holding his robes. It was then that reality caught up to James— he was in the girls' dormitory wearing nothing but a pair of baby ducky boxers. He turned red, muttered something inaudible, and slipped into the robes somewhat self-consciously, causing the corners of Arabella's mouth to twitch.

Rather belatedly, Lily noticed that Arabella's attention had been diverted. She glanced up, saw James, and turned even paler, if that was possible, and began to tremble uncontrollably.

Arabella glanced down at Lily, worry etched on her face. For some reason, the sight of James seemed to frighten Lily even more. Why? Shouldn't the presence of one of the school's most powerful wizards, who also happened to be her boyfriend, comfort Lily? Arabella supposed it had something to do with her nightmare— she had been unable to coax anything out of Lily other than the broken phrases "monster" and "red eyes".

Suddenly, out of the corner of their eyes, they saw Ariel Silvershay collapse onto her bed, sobbing, and yank the curtains shut. Sirius, on the ground by the foot of her bed, looked as if he had just awoken from a trance. _What in the world was going on?_

~*~*~

Sirius had rolled a good distance on the floor after flying rather ungracefully through the door, and had smacked his head on the leg of a bed. He rubbed his injured body part, growling and baring his teeth at Remus (which made Remus laugh even harder). Suddenly, he found himself looking up into the silver-blue-green gaze of Ariel Silvershay, and he gulped, all of a sudden feeling very vulnerable.

Ariel was one of Lily's best friends, along with Arabella Figg. She had shoulder-length strawberry-blond hair and silver-blue-green eyes that seemed to bore into your skull and read your thoughts whenever she turned that piercing gaze towards you. No one knew whether she could really read people's thoughts or not— no one even knew if she was completely human.

She was petite, quiet, and she always wore an impenetrable "poker face"— completely impassive but sometimes with a small smile playing on her lips— unless she was around her close friends. She excelled at Herbology, and seemed to know the entire plant kingdom, magical and nonmagical, inside out. You were her fiend if you were not her enemy— her logic was as simple as that. It sometimes worked out to the person's advantage, but God help you if you were on her shit list.

Sirius had fancied Ariel before, but he had never gathered the courage to ask her out. He didn't know why she affected him that way— he normally had no problem asking girls out (though most girls made it easy by simply throwing themselves at him). She was nice to him, and she laughed at his pranks (even when she was the target— she would retaliate immediately using her knowledge of plants), but it was impossible to read whether she liked him or not. She had been deemed 'hard to get' by all the other boys (only God knows how many of them had tried to penetrate that armor but failed), and she had never gone out with anyone as his girlfriend, including Sirius.  

Sirius had 'given up' and gone out with other girls, but he just couldn't forget Ariel. She had inadvertently claimed some special place in his heart, but he didn't know exactly _what_…

Sirius didn't realize that he had been unconscious until Ariel unstopped a vile under his nose, and the putrid scent made him sneeze and nauseous at the same time. "What the bloody hell is that shit?" he yelped.

Ariel frowned mockingly and jabbed a finger playfully at his chest. "Tsk tsk. Such language in front of a lady. It's called wakeflower, and it's used to revive people who faint—" she grinned, "—like _babies_."

"I did _not_ faint like a baby!" retorted Sirius indignantly. "And no flower ever smelled like that!"

"But it does," replied Ariel, eyes widening ever-so-innocently. She jabbed him again, and began to laugh. "Sirius Balck _fainted_!" she whooped as she poked him on the nose. (A/N: _On_ his nose, not _up_ his nose).

Sirius caught her hand and brought it to his mouth, baring and snapping his teeth mock-ferociously. His dark eyes danced as he lowered his head and licked his lips, causing Ariel to squirm when she realized the implications.

Originally his intentions had been only to bite her in a 'friendly sort of way', but suddenly, something inside of his changed. The tousled strawberry-blond hair… the surprised, innocent look on her face… those captivating blue-green eyes with bright flecks of silver…

Not quite aware of what he was doing, Sirius brought Ariel's finger to his lips and kissed it, nibbling gently. Her breath caught in her throat when he raised his eyes to hers— his eyes had become fathomless pits of darkness. But they seemed glazed and unfocused…

 Suddenly, in a voice unlike Sirius's own, he said, "_As handsome as he, as fair as ye be, you shall never be free, till you come answer me._"

Ariel jerked her hand back and stumbled blindly to her bed, tears threatening to spill over. She yanked the curtains around her bed and buried her face into her pillow, sobbing. _Why me?_ she asked herself silently. _Whenever I feel myself falling, it happens. Must my heart be torn to pieces again and again? Why won't it let me be?_

Sirius snapped out of his trance and found the curtains pulled shut around Ariel's bed. The muffled, heaving sobs coming from inside tore at his heart and made him want to go comfort her, even though the rational part of him knew it would be the stupidest thing he had ever done (considering the fact that it must have been him who did something to get her like this). Slowly, he got to his feet, to find everyone in the room staring at him, a myriad of odd expressions on their faces. _What had he just done?_

~*~*~

Remus came out of his little niche and looked at both of his friends. James looked troubled and anguished, and Sirius appeared confused and hurt.

Slowly, he opened his mouth and voiced the unspoken question in the minds of every person currently not scared out of their wits or sobbing their heart out. "What in Merlin's name is going on here?"

Suddenly, another head appeared in the doorway. "Yeah, what the heck just happened? And why are there _boys_ here?" Kayla Martin, another Gryffindor seventh year girl not well-liked by Lily, Ariel, and Arabella, asked haughtily. However, when she recognized the Marauders, she smiled sweetly, and said in a suggestive tone, "Oh, it's _you_ three." Kayla flashed the shivering Lily a contemptuous glare. "Did our little Head Girl get scared by a ghost? Or was it one of your _ingenious_ pranks?" she asked in a saccharin sweet voice, conveniently forgetting that it had been her who screamed the loudest that morning due to Sirius's work).

Arabella interrupted before Kayla could keep flirting and make them all throw up. "What have you been doing till 2, Kayla?"

Kayla looked down her pert nose at Arabella, and answered coldly, all saccharin sweetness forgotten, "It's none of your business."

Arabella smiled with no trace of sweetness or warmth, making it seem as if she were baring her teeth instead. "Good. Let's do it your way. You mind your business and go away, and I won't ask where you've been doing what."

"But this is my dorm too. I have a right to know why the Marauders are here at this time—"

Arabella gave Kayla an icy stare. "Like bloody hell you do. Bugger off, bitch."

"Really, Ara, must you swear?" asked another voice. Talia Montague's head emerged from the adjoining bathrooms, frowning. She had been friends with Lily and Arabella before, even though she _was_ a bit too conceited and a goody-goody-two-shoes, but when Lily became Prefect in their fifth year and not her, their camaraderie became hatred and jealousy on Talia's part. "Though really, what _happened_ here? We'll all be in _so_ much trouble if Professor McGonagall turns up. You are all so _irresponsible_ and _immature_—"

Arabella glared. She had once had the patience to endure Talia's constant "oh, why are you all so stupid" speeches, but it was long gone. "Honestly, must you be as much of a bitch as Martin? _Bugger off_, both of you!"

Talia started to say, "Watch your language!" and Kayla was about to draw her wand when Arabella whipped out her wand and shouted, "_Dormirus Totalus!_"

Both girls dropped to the floor. Sighing, Arabella flicked her wand and deposited each of them into their respective beds. "They wouldn't shut up and go away," she explained, as everyone's mouths were hanging open, "so I just made them fall asleep to get them out of the way. Someone remind me to wake them up tomorrow morning. And _do_ close you mouths before you attract flies."

Remus snickered. Count on Arabella's sarcasm to lighten things up.

"Anything the matter, Lupin?" asked Arabella sweetly, a little too sweetly for any wise person's comfort.

Remus was wise. He fidgeted, then turned to Lily and asked, "You okay, Lily?"

Unable to speak, she just raised her terrified eyes to Remus and nodded numbly. She couldn't erase the image of Remus howling with blood all over him from her mind— the image was the exact opposite of the Remus she knew, the gentle, kind, intelligent Remus. _What did it mean?_

"Okay, then." Remus looked around, then said, "James, transfigure a piece of paper or something into a cup of hot cocoa for Lily, and let's leave. We should all get some sleep now."

James and Sirius started to protest, James's face full of concern as he looked at Lily and Sirius's face full of confusion and pain as he looked at Ariel's closed-off bed, but Remus let James do his bit of Transfiguration, the proceeded to grab a handful of each of their robes and firmly drag them out of the girls' dormitory.

Once they were out of hearing distance, James whirled on Remus and demanded angrily, "What was that for?"

Not to be deterred, Remus answered in a low voice, "Are you blind, James? Didn't you see that our presence was scaring Lily even more? Once we saw that she was safe, we should have left instead of stand around and keep making her tremble like a leaf whenever she laid eyes upon one of us."

That shut James up. He remembered Lily's pale face, her wide, frightened eyes, and her uncontrollable trembling when she saw him. It hurt. Why was Lily afraid of him?

"Who's that standing around by the girls' dorm?" a sharp voice demanded. Professor McGonagall appeared by the stairway, clad in a magenta and gold brocade dressing gown, yawning faintly and glaring out of bloodshot eyes. "It's past two in the morning! Detention for all— oh, it's you three. What happened? Was it—"

James, Sirius, and Remus nodded. "We heard her scream, so we grabbed her robes and wands and ran here. She had a nightmare, and a pretty horrific one too, judging by her state of mind when we first saw her," explained James. He glanced at the others, and decided to tell the whole truth. "She's okay now, I think. We left her with Arabella Figg. I think we might have been in her nightmare, because she looked even more scared when she saw us. That's why we left."

Professor McGonagall fixed the three of them with a surprisingly steady gaze for a moment, then nodded. "Very well. Go to sleep, boys. You have another busy day ahead of you tomorrow. I will report this to the Headmaster tomorrow morning, there's no need for you to do so." She started to turn to walk back up to her room, but she suddenly stopped and added in a soft, emotional, very uncharacteristic-McGonagall tone, "Thank you boys. I must admit that before, when Professor Dumbledore first informed me of his decision, I had some doubts. But now I know why— he was right to choose you."

Inwardly, the Marauders beamed with pride, for stern Professor McGonagall was not known for being free with praise. She prided herself— and made sure everyone knew it— on the fact that she praised only those who truly deserved it.

Their joy was short-lived though, when a cold, sneering voice met them up the stairs to their own dormitory. "Care to fill me in on some things, my dear fellow Marauders?"

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Yay! Chapter 4 is done! I have only started to write Chapter 5, but it might not be up for a while, because I _really_ have to work on my other story, Invisible Barriers. I'm going to say 100 reviews for the next chapter, but let me clear some things up— when I ask for a certain number of reviews, it doesn't mean I won't post until I get those reviews. It's just an estimate for how much time I need to write and type the next chapter. Sometimes my estimates are good, and sometimes they're off. So…

**Review! **Even though '100 reviews' is just an estimate for the next chapter, I can be persuaded… ^_^

=^.^= Merlin's Quill

PS- Did anyone catch the Tamora Pierce quote? I'll give you a hint. It's from the Immortals quartet, book 2.


	5. The Confrontation(s)

Okies, it's been a while. A little over a month, I think. I'm going to save all this blabber for after the chapter, so please read the Author's Note, ok? I'm not getting that many reviews anymore (**pouts**), but oh well. My estimate was _really_ off last chapter. Do you think you could let me get 100 reviews? It would help boost my confidence a lot, because if I'm not getting reviews, I might stop writing these fics and go write Newsies fanfiction instead…

Well, here's Chapter 5.

NOTE: This chapter is split into sections, separated by "~*~*~". Sometimes, they are occurring at the same time, except that they are told from different points of view or happening in different places. I hope it's not that confusing.

**Chapter 5: The Confrontation(s)**

            Peter, clad in a dark blue nightgown, glared down at the three Marauders, and continued. "Oh, I've always been wondering why you were all of a sudden so interested in that girl. I originally thought it was just because James wanted her, but now, I see there's more to it. I suppose you had fun laughing over my stupidity behind my back, didn't you? I really did make a complete and utter fool of myself trying to understand why you just became so interested in her this year. You weren't ever going to tell me, were you?" He laughed bitterly. "Remember the Marauders' Code we swore on in first year? 'No Marauder will ever betray, harm, or hide something from another.' Apparently you're not following the code, so why should I? I—"

            "What's this?" asked a sleepy voice behind Peter. Chase Montgomery, the other seventh-year Gryffindor male, appeared at the top of the stairs, running a hand through his tousled brown hair and rubbing sleep from silver-gray eyes. He was not a Marauder (though he _had_ been invited to join the gang), but he was just as well liked and respected. He was the only seventh year Gyffindor male to whom the Slytherins were civil, and sometimes even friendly. Reluctantly, they had admitted and accepted that he was sharp, fair, and intelligent in a "worldly" way, AKA street-smart— he trusted his instincts above anything else, and because he had been born and raised in the rough area of New York (Brooklyn) before his mother decided to move to England (A/N: GO NEWSIES!!!), he had had to put those skills to use more than once. Plus, he was handsome in a rugged kind of way, and not even the Slytherin girls could deny that. (Another A/N: For all of you who have watched "Newsies" (**glares at the people who haven't**), Chase is somewhat like Spot Conlon (Gabriel Damon) in both looks (::drools::) and personality (::swoon::), though Chase isn't as powerful and feared as Spot is, and not quite as arrogant. OK, I'll shut up with the Author's Notes and parentheses now. I'm overdoing them, aren't I?) Chase was also a Chaser (no pun intended; okay, well, maybe it _was_ intentional…) on the Gryffindor Quidditch Team. All in all, there were many very good reasons for why much of Hogwarts' female population was following him around with stars in their eyes, but the thing that distinguished Chase from people like Sirius was that Chase wasn't fickle. If he dated a girl, he didn't dump her a week later (::cough "Sirius" cough:: **ducks UFO from Sainatee**). He also had many girl-friends— friends that were girls— and Lily happened to be one of his closest friends.

            With a quick, sweeping glance, Chase's sharp eyes took in the situation, and then in a soft but impatient voice, he said, "If you're going to have a fight, do it in the dorm. We don't need the whole House meddling in whatever it is you're fighting about. Come on."

            Without a word, Peter stomped back through the door. James, Sirius, and Remus looked at each other, sighed, and followed Peter. Chase raised an eyebrow at everyone's reactions, but kept his mouth shut and closed the door after his fellow roommates.

~*~*~

            Meanwhile, in the girls' dorm after the boys had left, Lily was still staring at her bedcovers and shivering uncontrollably. She just couldn't erase the frightening images of James, Sirius, and Remus from her mind— what did they mean? How was her nightmare connected with the other ones that she had been having during the past few weeks, if they were at all?

            It would be impossible for Lily to think of them like before again, meaning things would never be quite the same between them. A single tear slid down her cheek.

            Arabella glanced at Lily once, then snatched up the steaming glass of hot chocolate and held it in front of her face. Lily looked at the proffered mug, then at Arabella's worried face, then at the chocolate again, and finally, with an unsteady hand, she took the cup.

            Magical hot chocolate is an excellent all-around remedy, similar to the way Muggles view chicken broth. After gulping some down and letting the warmth engulf her, Lily ceased shivering and immediately felt better.

            Lily was about to thank Arabella for the hot chocolate when she saw that Arabella was deep in thought about something. When Ara was twirling a lock of hair around her finger, it meant something bothered or puzzled her.

            Suddenly, Arabella broke out of her trance and turned to Lily. "Lily, I know James is your boyfriend, but when you screamed bloody murder, they _all_ ran down here like they had to protect you. It's hard to explain— it's just a weird feeling that was nagging at me. Is it just me and my screwed-up little brain, or do you get what I'm saying?"

            Thoughtfully, Lily replied, "Yeah, I think I know what you mean. It's one of the only times I've ever seen Sirius serious, no pun intended. They've been shadowing me for a while now, and I can't get any straight answers from them about why. I don't believe the crap they were feeding me about James being madly in love with me, even though it would be nice." She smiled, but then added on an afterthought, "And not once have they ever gotten in trouble for it. Ara, I think the teachers are in on this little conspiracy too."

            Arabella was about to reply when something caught her attention. "Wait, Lily, listen." She crept over to the door, where she crouched silently. Arabella was known for her keen sense of hearing, which had gotten them out of many a scrape and given quite a few Slytherins detention for whispering things that they thought no one could hear, so Lily closed her mouth and waited.

            Finally, Arabella turned back and said, "Apparently they never told Pettigrew, because he woke up, heard something, I guess, and is starting to raise hell right now. Chase just pulled them into the room." She paused. "Hey, Lily, if you're up to it, why don't you sneak over and listen? You might learn something useful. Plus, I don't think you're in any condition to go back to sleep. Here, take Potter's Invisibility Cloak."

            As Lily caught the aforementioned object from Arabella, she asked curiously, "How'd you get this?"

            Arabella's mouth twitched. "Let's just say I borrowed it."

            Lily grinned. "Okay, I won't ask any questions. Actually, I think I'll follow your suggestion. You're right, I wouldn't be able to sleep anyway."

            Lily changed out of her pajamas into her robes, dug around for her wand, slipped the cloak on, and crept over to the boys' room. She knelt by the door and cast a Listening Charm, then settled into a nice little niche for the 'show'.

            About fifteen minutes later, though, Lily had had enough. She had learned more than she ever wanted to know. She began to make some sense out of the dreams and messages she'd been receiving, though she still didn't understand the reason for the shape-shifting and the blood all over Remus in her latest nightmare. However, almost everything else was horrifyingly clear.

            That night, Lily couldn't sleep at all. Over and over, the conversation echoed in her mind, the words haunting her…

~*~*~

            Back in the boys' dormitory, all five boys piled through the door and locked it shut.

            The moment the charm was cast, Peter whirled on them and screamed, "Why couldn't you tell me? A _true_ Marauder would have? _True_ Marauders don't keep secrets from each other!" (A/N: Oh, the irony! Hehe.)

            Chase fidgeted, "I can see this is Marauder business. I won't meddle. I'm going to sleep, and someone can cast a Blocking Charm on my bed. No Sleeping Charms though, because last time you guys forgot to wave me up, and I missed all of my classes and got thoroughly dressed-down by Professor McGonagall." He grinned, and as he crawled back under his covers, he said, "Good night. Or is it good morning? Nah, too sleepy to decide. Anyway, one of you can cast the charm. I won't even try one, because I'm horrible at Charms. I don't know what I'd do if Lily wasn't tutoring me." Chase faked a yawn and pulled the curtains shut. "Nighty-night."

            Sirius grinned, but then looked at the closed-off bed and sighed, wishing he was snuggled beneath the covers in his own bed with his beloved stuffed poodle instead of being out here faced with the wrath of an extremely (and in his opinion, ridiculously) outraged Peter, who had a dented ego because they had neglected to tell him _everything_ that was going on, like he expected them too because "they were Marauders". _Yeah right,_ he thought. _Being a Marauder doesn't mean that we'll spill all our guts to you. We're entitled to some secrets, no matter what the Code says. And I highly doubt that you've told us everything about you._ "Oh, whose going to cast the charm? Not me; I don't want poor Chase waking up with three heads or something."

            From behind the curtains they heard a laugh and a muffled, "Thanks, Sirius! Excellent choice! James, you're Head Boy, and you're not as unskilled as Sirius, or so we hope, so you do it. Please refrain from giving me any extra body parts. I like myself the way I am, thank you very much."

            James chuckled. "I wouldn't count on that. The only reason I'm getting such good grades in Charms is Lily, the sacred, revered Charms master— if I didn't have her, I'd just be scraping by. But then again, I think you would look rather nice with only one eye in the middle of your forehead— I learned that charm somewhere—"

            A pillow flew out, but hit Remus instead of James. Remus caught it, etched a little face with one eyeball on it with his wand and labeled the drawing "Chase Montgomery, Gryffindor's Resident Cyclops", and tossed it back in, grinning. When he heard Chase's muffled sound of mock outrage, he laughed, and resolved to always check his bed for any slimy things or any curses before he went to bed from now on. Then, remembering the subject they had been on, he said lightly, "You guys are pathetic. You can't do a simple Blocking Charm after all the hours you've spent with Lily plus what we've spent in the library? And you're Head Boy, James? Tsk tsk!"

            Again, a voice came through the curtains. "You all are pathetic! Remus, just do it! I need my beauty sleep, and I don't feel like hearing you Marauders bickering!"

            Remus laughed, and cast the charm. Then, after he was done, a spark of genius visited him. In his best imitation of a saccharin-sweet female voice, he drawled, "Nighty-night, Chase m'love. Sweet dreams— of me, my dear," and then, he blew a very wet, loud kiss towards the bed.

            When no pillows or hexes came flying out, Remus turned to a howling Sirius and a hysterical James and pronounced, grinning maniacally, that the charm had worked.

            When he had finally calmed down, Sirius jerked his head towards Chase's bed and grinned. "I always knew I liked that kid. He knows when to keep his nose— well, his ears— to himself."

            "A very good Chaser, too." That was James, obviously.

            "Also rather good-looking," observed Remus without quite thinking of what he had just said before it was too late. _Oh no_, he muttered.

            "Remus!" exclaimed Sirius. "When did you become attracted to the same sex?" He then wiggled his eyebrows suggestively, advancing towards Remus.

            "Not like that, you huge oaf!" laughed Remus as he dove out of the way. "I was just comparing him to you! Besides, if I wasn't straight I wouldn't— oh, never mind." He flung a pillow at Sirius and dove over James's bed, laughing hysterically at the look of mock outrage on Sirius's face when it had sunk in that Remus had just said Chase was better looking than he was.

              "You okay, Moony, old pal? And I thought you were the sensible one in our group!" James shook his head, grinning as he watched Sirius chase a rather hyper Remus around the room.

            And Peter was watching this too, just watching. Then, in what he thought (or rather, hoped) was a disdainful manner, he cleared his throat and looked down his stubby nose at them and their antics.

            However, this didn't quite elicit the effect Peter had hoped. No one showed any sign of noticing him, and Sirius even _tripped_ over him, just like an inanimate piece of furniture, in his mad dash around the room.

            Finally, growing angrier and angrier, Peter pointed his wand between Sirius and Remus and screamed, "_Dolorus Obstare Illum!_"

            A wall of sparks formed around Sirius, restricting his movement. Every time he tried to move, a searing burn formed across his skin where it touched the wall of sparks.

            Suddenly, Peter realized exactly what he had done. He had just used a Dark spell, one commonly used to stop Aurors. _Shit_, he thought frantically, _how do I explain this? Master won't be very happy, to say the least, if my cover slips._

            Peter quickly muttered the countercurse, and just as a light of suspicion began to flare in Remus's eyes, Peter quickly cut in and said, "Well?"

"Well what?" snapped Sirius, rubbing his arm, which was still smarting from the burn. "And what spell was that? Where'd you learn it? It hardly seems like something that would be taught—"

Peter ignored the last couple questions, and said, "Well? Care to fill me in on what I've missed, my _dear_ fellow Marauders?"

When no one answered, Peter narrowed his eyes and coldly said, "It seems I have overstayed my welcome, haven't I? You've decided to stop the charity? That's it, isn't it? The only reason you let me into the group was charity for the weak and stupid. I certainly was stupid when I thought you actually accepted me as a true Marauder, when I thought that you wouldn't keep things from me because we were _friends_. I actually thought we were _friends_," he added bitterly.

Peter started to turn and walk out when James grabbed his arm. "Wait." James turned to Sirius and Remus, searching for a 'yes' or a 'no', but their faces were blank and impassive, having long decided that if James wanted to tell Peter, it was his choice. This was against Sirius's better judgment, but after much arguing with Sirius the other day, he had to give in.

So James sighed, and began to tell Peter everything, while Lily (who had just arrived a few moments before) listened.

When he was done, Peter sank down on his bed in shock. _So that was what Master was talking about. That Mudblood being protected. But why does it have to be James, Sirius, and Remus? As stupid and lovesick as they can be sometimes, I still don't want them to get killed._ Thinking quickly, Peter whined, "But you guys might get hurt if you try to get in You-Know-Who's way! Or even killed!"

James sat down on the bed beside Peter. "I know. We all know the risks, but we've accepted them. If shit happens, it happens. I'm willing to risk my life for Lily, and for the greater good of the Light side. She is extremely talented and powerful, and if she is on our side of the war, we may be one step closer to winning and getting rid of Voldemort forever." Then, quietly, James added, "I think I love her. No, I don't _think_ I do— I _know_ I do."

"But James," said Peter shrilly, a bit too shrilly, "if you die for her, then there's no point in being in love with her because you're _dead_!"

"That's not how love works, Peter!" James shook his head, clearly frustrated. "I can't explain it. When you fall in love with someone someday, you'll understand what I mean."

_Yeah, right, like that'll ever happen_, thought Peter bitterly. _Of course it's easy for them to say— they're all handsome and popular, and they have girls falling at their feet. They never knew, and probably never will, what it feels like to be all alone. Acceptance is a bittersweet thing; now I've found it. Why do you have to interfere? I found a family who actually gives a shit about me; I'm worth something to them. If only you didn't have to mess things up. I don't want to have to choose between them and you, and you're forcing me too. I don't want to make the choice, but if it eventually does come to that decision, there's no doubt who I will pick._

Seeing Peter's still rebellious, disapproving look, Remus sighed and said, "Peter, listen to me. James loves Lily and the cause of the Light side enough to die for them. Sirius and I do too. We will protect Lily with our lives. Enough said?"

Tauntingly, Sirius added, "Are the concepts of love and honor that difficult to understand? We love Lily. We are passionately dedicated to the Light side. Dying for either cause is honor. I would be proud and honored to die for Lily or if my death would bring us all one step closer to the downfall of the _Dark side._" Sirius spat out the last two words, his face dark with contempt. 

That did it. "_You'll all die!_" Peter shrieked, his pudgy face turning a shade of mottled reddish-purple from fury. "And _she's_ the one who'll kill you!! You're all going to die because of _her_!!" With that, he unlocked the door and stomped off, mere inches away from stumbling upon where Lily was crouched, wide-eyed and terrified.

When he was gone, Lily waited to see if anyone would open the door and run after Pettigrew. When no one did, she silently ran back up to her room, then Banished the invisibility cloak back to land in a heap in front of the door, where one of the boys would find it the next morning. _I never want to see that cloak again,_ she thought fiercely as she pocketed her wand. _Why did I have to hear that? I wish I had never followed Arabella's suggestion. _

But she had, and she had learned more than she ever wanted to know. Now she was faced with one of the most difficult decisions of her life, and either way, someone would be hurt. All she had to do was pick who.

_You're all going to die because of _her_!…it's your fault… _

~*~*~

Chase and Ariel were lounging in the Gryffindor common room playing wizard chess that evening.

Chase, having lost a game to an extremely happy Ariel was playfully protesting. "Cheater! You were using your powers!"

Ariel knew people thought she could read minds. She laughed. "Was not!"

"Was too!"

"Was not!"

"Was—"

Their good-natured bickering was interrupted when a harried Lily clambered through the portrait hole and rushed into the room. "Chase!" she said urgently. "Come here for a moment! Please!"

Chase and Ariel looked at each other, then he shrugged and got up to follow Lily."

"What?" asked Chase as Lily dragged him to a corner of the room. "What's this madness?" In a glance, he noticed that Lily looked harassed and frantic. _What now?_

"Chase, I've been tutoring you for a while now and we've always been friends and—"

"Lily," interrupted Chase not unkindly, "stop rambling. Just get on with it. I'm guessing you need a favor. Shoot."

Lily took a deep breath. "Chase, whatever I do next, just play along. Please? Don't say or do anything. I'm begging you, Chase. Just please do this for me."

Before he had a chance to react to this strange request, things happened so abruptly that his mind was whirling. James Potter climbed through the portrait hole, and Lily wrapped her arms around Chase's neck and firmly pressed her lips against his.

Just as Chase thought, _Lily! What the bloody hell?_, it was all over and Lily was looking properly ashamed of herself as she turned slowly towards a gaping James standing motionless by the portrait hole.

Chase was about to grab Lily around the neck and ask her what the hell she was doing when she turned around and gave him a pleading look. Chase had been friends with Lily long enough to know that whenever she brought out that pleading look, it was serious, so he sighed, gritted his teeth, and kept his mouth shut. At least for now. _Lily, if you don't give me a good reason for everything, I will personally wring your neck and feed you to Fang. If you wanted to break up with James, why couldn't you just _**tell**_ him? Why'd you have to drag me into the mess? I'll never be able to look James, or any of the other Marauders, in the face again! Damn, all the things I do and sacrifice for you, Lily._

The hurt and betrayal in James's eyes was too much for Lily to bear. If she looked up at him, she would break down and lose all her resolve, so she stared at the floor and mumbled, "I'm sorry, James. It's— it's not working for us anymore. I thought it was—" Lily gulped. "I thought it was love, but it wasn't. I— I was going to tell you—"

Lily never had to finish her sentence, because James turned abruptly and ran blindly towards the boys' dormitory, slamming the door shut behind him.

~*~*~

James closed the door behind him and leaned up against it, silently willing himself to be strong. _I can handle this. I've broken up with girls before. There's no difference._ Then he sighed, and willed himself to accept the inevitable. _Yes there is. Admit is, Jamsie-boy, you loved her._

He sank down to his knees and closed his eyes. _Lily… I thought she was the one. I truly loved her. But not only did she not love me back, she cheated on me behind my back. With Chase._

His throat tightened, but James swallowed convulsively, took a deep breath, and forced the pain down. _So that's why she was so frightened of me before. Was she afraid I had found out about her and Chase? No, I got it— in her dream, I must have discovered their affair and killed them. When I ran into her room last night, she must have thought I really had found out and was about to murder her in her bed._ James laughed bitterly, mirthlessly, a harsh, painful sound that rasped in his throat and rang in his ears. _I'm good, Lily m'dear, but not _that _good. You were better for a long time. I admit it. You concealed it all perfectly until just now, with that one stolen kiss. Why Lily, you couldn't keep your hands to yourself and wait till midnight, or whenever you two would meet in some deserted classroom?_

_How long was this going to go on? You weren't ever going to tell me, were you?_ Suddenly, in his mind, he heard Peter's angry voice screaming the same thing just last night: "You weren't ever going to tell me, were you?"

The irony in it all was enough to produce another harsh, bitter laugh from James's mouth… his throat… his heart… his soul. But this time he couldn't stop.

James didn't stop laughing at the broken fragments of his ruined dreams until he couldn't laugh anymore. Then, the pain set in, the raw pain of disappointment, of betrayal, of shattered dreams and hopes, and there he lay, sobbing quietly, as the remnants of his love tore into his heart, leaving deep wounds and gouges that would never fully heal.

~*~*~

When the door to the boys' dormitory slammed shut behind James, Lily let forth a strangled, tortured cry and fled to her room.

_I'm a bloody coward,_ thought Lily as she sobbed into her pillow. _I should have just told James… I never should have brought Chase into this whole cursed mess…maybe it would have saved us both from all this pain… oh gods, that _look_ in his eyes…_

Why didn't I just tell him? Because I'm a bloody selfish coward! I was too weak to straightforwardly break up with James… I couldn't do it…and look what has happened…

_Oh James… I wish I didn't have to do this at all… why did this have to happen to _me_, of all people? But it has… so this is for both our own goods. I don't want to kill you. I don't want to live out the rest of my pitiful life drowning in guilt, knowing I could have saved you by just staying away._

_I don't want people to die because of me. I am willing to suffer in silence if it means you will live. James, just—_ a painful sob wracked her body— _go find another nice girl. There are plenty out there that throw themselves at your feet.  I hope you'll be happy. Please don't let my sacrifice be in vain. Forget me. Make the most of your life. Forget me and I'll try to forget you._

Forget me and I'll try to forget you. I'll try… 

~*~*~

Chase could only stare after his two friends as they each fled to their rooms. _What the bloody hell?_

He raced up the stairs to Lily's room, and seriously considered pounding on the door and screaming, "Lily, what in the bloody hell have you just done and for god's sakes, _why???_", and not stopping until he got an answer that satisfied him, but then he heard her dry, heaving sobs, and all his anger abruptly disappeared. Lily seldom cried, but when she did, it tore at him, knowing that his best friend was in that much pain but he was unable to do anything about it.

But that didn't mean he wouldn't try. Chase knocked softly on the door and was about to enter when he heard Lily's tearful voice say, "Go away, please. Just leave me alone." Then her voice cracked, as she burst into more strangled sobs.

Not that that stopped him though; nothing would at that point. In fact, it made him even _more_ determined to go in. Chase slowly cracked open the door, and found the curtains drawn shut around Lily's bed.

"Lily?" he said softly. "Lily, it's me, Chase." He walked quietly to her bed with the intention of opening the curtains, but then thought the better of it, and sat down on Arabella's bed instead. "C'mon, Lily. Talk to me. And please don't cry like that. It hurts me, and trust me, you look horrible when you cry. Your face gets all blotchy, and—"

He managed a weak smile when Lily drew back the curtains and scowled, though he saw that she was trying her best not to sob again. She looked at him pleadingly, but all she could say was one word, a barely audible whisper, "Chase…"

He quickly crossed over and enveloped her into a hug, rubbing her back and whispering soothing things to her as she sobbed into his shoulder. (A/N: Isn't the irony absolutely touching? All these secrets and Lily crying and needing comfort. Awww…)

Finally, Lily's sobs were reduced to heaving, shuddering gulps of air, and she raised embarrassed, bloodshot eyes to his face. "I'm sorry, Chase. I'm normally not such a crybaby. It's just that— that—"

"It's okay, Lily. Don't worry about it. You're okay now, right?"

When she nodded, he returned his arms to his sides and somewhat self-consciously shifted a little farther away on the bed, putting some space between himself and Lily. Lily noticed this and couldn't help feeling a bit hurt, though she supposed her actions had warranted this. :I suppose you would like an explanation?" she asked quietly.

Chase nodded, but then quickly added, "You can tell me later if you want— that is, if you don't feel comfortable talking about it now—"

Lily shook her head, and answered wearily, "No, I'd rather get it over with." And so the words began to flow, starting from all her nightmares to what she had overheard the night before.

Lily's mind wasn't in her words— the words were pouring out mechanically, not unlike a programmed robot, while she half-heartedly listened to what she was saying. Most of her thoughts— and her heart and soul— were with James.

Chase saw that Lily wasn't truly focused on what she was saying; the bleak, reminiscent pain in her eyes gave it away that she was thinking about James. But he listened, and he listened well, as Lily subconsciously spun her tale.

When she finished, the light returned to her eyes and the emotions to her voice as she pleaded, "Chase, you have to help me. Please, I'm begging you. I can't face this alone."

Chase swallowed hard. _Am I digging my own grave here? Of all the things for Lily to do…_ But finally he nodded and said quietly, "I'll try, Lily, I'll try."

He gave Lily one last brotherly hug, then left to try and find some solitary place to process his thoughts and make sense of all that had just changed in his life.

~*~*~

Ariel watched out of the corner of her eye as she began to slowly put away the chess pieces. She saw the grim desperation in Lily's eyes as she dragged Chase over to the corner… the obvious pain radiating from James when he saw Lily kissing Chase… the torn, conflicting emotions boiling in Chase as he watched both James and Lily run to their respective dormitories… Ariel never missed much. In fact, hardly anything ever escaped her notice.

It was then that Chase returned from the girls' dormitory, a faraway, unreadable look in his eyes. Not even noticing that Ariel had put away the chessboard, he mumbled, "Sorry, Ariel. I'll play you again tomorrow. Not tonight. I— I need to find some place to think."

Ariel nodded, having already sensed the myriad of conflicting emotions swirling inside him. He did need to think whatever it was that was bothering him over, or he might drive himself insane. Humans simply couldn't cope with too many unorganized emotions. All she said to him was, "Chase, do what _you_ think is right. It isn't selfishness— it's called judgment. Thinking only of others but not of yourself may not always be good and honorable, it may sometimes be foolish. It might even harm someone. Think carefully, Chase."

Chase took in her words, nodded his thanks, then climbed out the portrait hole. Ariel sighed. "Lily, what have you just started? And why?"

But she felt she already knew the answer.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Finally! Done! Woohoo!

Okay, this is what I want to say. Please read: 

Reviews are awfully slow lately, and I've kinda lost a lot of my obsession/interest in Harry Potter fics. Newsies is a lot better. If I don't start getting reviews to help make me feel appreciated, I might stop writing L/J and write Newsies ficcies instead. Okay? Thank you for listening. LOL

I'm not even going to _try_ and set an estimate for when the next chapter's gonna be up, if at all. If I reach 90, I'll be happy.

=^.^= Merlin's Quill


	6. Sirius is a Moron and Remus Has a Plan

Yay! I'm actually getting to type Chapter 6... ah well, I'm sorry it's taken so long. Not going to talk a lot... **hears snort in background** Ah shaddup. Since no one reads anything I write up here, if I'm going to blab, I will do it at the end of the chappy. So here it, is, Chapter 6.

BTW... I asked for 90 reviews last chapter, and got 88... that's not so bad... to all those who were kind enough to review, thank you! I will save the long list of thank-yous for the end of this story. I will personally thank every person who reviewed. But not till the end… mwahahaha... I see that light at the end of the tunnel... no, don't say it. I know. It's probably a train coming to run over me. **SPLAT**

Chapter 6: Sirius is a Moron and Remus Has a Plan 

Lily and James avoided each other as much as humanly possible for the next two days. Lily spent most of her day in a small hidden corner of the library, hardly moving except to go to classes; at night, she would stay up, poring through book after book, as late as her eyelids would let her, so she could slip up to bed when no one else was awake. James spent most of his time either on the Quidditch pitch, flying around aimlessly and letting the wind blow his cares away— at least for a little while— or in a small room by the North Tower that Sirius had found, which was hidden by a painting of a rose. This way, the only time Lily and James could run into each other except for during classes was on the way to and from classes. However, James soon eliminated this possibility by resorting to the secret passages revealed by the Marauder's Map. There was always the risk of getting caught and punished, but James had never worried about that before, so why start worrying now? 

So that was how life went for Lily and James— sleeping, studying, sneaking down to the kitchen at various times to eat. In the rare event that they did see each other, they either ignored each other or exchanged a few clipped, but civil, words. And that was that.

~*~*~

You can't possibly think that Lily and James were the only ones affected by Lily's decision, can you? Well, they weren't. Ariel and Arabella, having the power known as feminine sensitivity, did what they could for Lily, and never mentioned anything having to do with that night. They supposed she had her reasons, but they weren't about to ask her until she felt ready to tell them. Friends stayed with each other no matter what, so they would do what they could and always be there for her if she ever needed them.

On the other hand, Sirius and Remus did not have the benefit of feminine sensitivity, though Remus did have the male counterpart of that, which is similar, but a little less— sensitive. Let's just note that Remus has more of it that Sirius, though.

They both viewed the situation differently. Unbeknownst to anyone, Remus had actually watched the entire thing from a small, hidden niche, and using the heightened senses that came from being a werewolf, he drew his own conclusions. Lily obviously had some sort of reason for doing what she did— if she had really wanted to cheat on James, she wasn't stupid enough to do it out in the open. Lily didn't strike him as the "cheating type" either. Besides, wasn't it a little _too_ coincidental that Lily kissed Chase at the exact moment when James came in? Combine that with the fact that just seconds before, Lily had literally _dragged_ Chase to the corner, looking desperate. Justifiably, Remus had his suspicions.

And when a Marauder has suspicions, a plan is born.

Sirius, on the other hand, had the sensitivity of a rock and the power of observation of a blind, deaf, and dumb idiot, especially when it came to "female matters". (A/N: Sorry, Sirius fans.) You don't believe me? Narrator is shutting up, and the story continues—

"Heya, Jamesie-boy!" Sirius shouted gleefully as he bounded into the common room one lovely afternoon, his cheery, gay (A/N: Sorry. Couldn't resist. ^_^) disposition a bit more exaggerated than usual. He clambered onto the plush chair James was sitting in, perilously close to James's arm, and nearly upset his inkbottle.

Still writing, James's eyes flickered upwards to discern the identity of his attacker. He then said a brief "hello", and returned his attention to his Transfiguration essay.

Sirius looked at the many rolls of parchment stacked neatly by James's chair, fingered through them quickly, then exclaimed, "Good god, James! McGonagall said 3 feet of parchment! This is what—" Sirius counted and multiplied quickly under his breath, "— 4 rolls, and 3 feet each— good lord! James, _12 feet of parchment??_ And you're not even done yet?"

James stopped writing, put his quill down, and looked up at Sirius for the first time since Sirius had made his entrance known to James. "It's not like I have much to do nowadays, Sirius," he said quietly. Everyday, he and Lily used to sit outside on the grass and do their homework together, and when they were done, they would go for walks hand-in-hand by the lake, or James would take Lily flying on his broom. Now, the memories hurt. Sometimes, even being outside hurt, because everywhere he looked, he could see himself and Lily walking together, or sneaking around together under his Invisible Cloak by the pale glow of moonlight.

James sighed, and picked up his quill again.

Sirius misunderstood what James had said, and leapt right in enthusiastically. "You _noticed_, James," he said sarcastically. "Good, it's time for you to stop moping. Why don't you get a new girlfriend? That will help you forget— _her_— and give you something to do, too."

Remus, just entering the common room, stopped short when he heard that. _No!_ he thought frantically. _If James gets a new girlfriend, everything'll be ruined!_ He cleared his throat loudly. "I don't think that's such a good idea," he began.

Sirius turned around and leaned casually against the back of James's chair, though his expression was guarded, maybe even bordering on hostile. "And why not, Remus?"

Remus paused. He couldn't share his suspicions with Sirius, because 1) Sirius— being Sirius— wouldn't understand, nor would he care, and 2) James was here, and he wouldn't take Remus's ideas very kindly, since he had proceeded to make himself hate Lily in order to hide his pain. Thinking quickly, Remus answered, "A simpering, empty-headed girlfriend isn't going to help James. God knows Lily was one of the only sensible, intelligent female specimens in Hogwarts." Then, listening to himself, Remus winced inwardly for forgetting to never mention Lily, but he continued anyway, hoping to smooth over his mistake. "Besides, what kind of girl would willingly want to be tortured by James? Especially his snoring..." Remus grinned, and ducked when James threw a pillow at him.

James made a face. "Thanks, Remus," he said dryly.

"Anytime, dear."

They both laughed, slightly lifting the tenseness that had settled over their heads before.

However, Sirius still wasn't convinced. "There are plenty of girls falling over their feet to please James," he pointed out, "and they aren't all simpering idiots."

Remus raised his eyebrows. The second part of Sirius's argument was _completely_ new to him, from all that he'd witnessed over the past six years. "For example..."

Sirius gulped, his mind racing for a name. "Ummm... Jessie Fitzroy in Ravenclaw isn't so bad. She's quite pretty, too."

Jessamine Fitzroy was a fifth year with long, dark brown hair and caramel-colored eyes. She was always constantly nice (there was no other way to put it) to everyone, always cheery and smiling. Sometimes, though, her saccharine-sweetness was as thick, overpowering, and stifling as honey. Besides, who knew what evils might lurk behind that cheery smile or that sweet, innocent face? 

But still, Remus couldn't quite argue with Sirius. It was true that Jessie basically worshipped the ground James walked on, but she did it from afar, and she wasn't, as it had been so neatly put, a "simpering idiot". Remus knew that if he tried to argue further, James and Sirius would accuse him of being a traitor for "protecting" Lily. Remus had already been forced to ignore Lily and act cold to her— he didn't want to, but he couldn't act against the [unspoken but understood] Marauder orders. He didn't want to start a fight that would end up doing nothing except put him at odds with James and Sirius, so he grimaced but kept his mouth shut. Plans could— and in this case, would have to— be changed.

Sirius, seeing that Remus had relented, mercilessly pursued his main target— James. "Come on, James, you've seen Jessie. She's nice, she's smart, she's pretty—"

"Then why didn't you ask her out yourself?" snapped an irritated James. He wanted them all to shut up and go away, so he could finish his Transfiguration homework.

Remus snickered, and coughed something that sounded unmistakably like "Ariel". Sirius glared at him, and Remus laughed. "Hit the nail right on the head, eh, Siri?"

"Shut your bloody trap, _Remmy_," growled Sirius mock-threateningly. He then put on his best high-pitched feminine voice and sang out, "Oh Ara_bel_la..."

Remus stuck out his tongue at Sirius, to which Sirius replied, "Oh how remarkably mature, Remmy."

Remus's answer to that was a pillow flung straight at Sirius's head, which knocked him onto James. Instead of rolling off and pouncing on Remus, Sirius took advantage of his position and pinned James to the couch.

"Bloody hell! Sirius, get off me!"

A couple of second year Gryffindors about to come down the stairs heard that, glimpsed Sirius in a very perverted position atop James, and immediately raced back into their dormitory.

Smiling devilishly, Sirius said, "Remus, why don't we tie Jamesie-boy here to the chair."

Struggling violently, James shouted, "One more time, Sirius— get the bloody sodding hell off me!!!" This only made Sirius laugh harder, of course.

Remus shrugged and uttered the spell.

James glared, temporarily stopping his struggling. "You too, Remus?"

Remus shrugged again, but this time, there was a mischievous glint in his eyes.

Sirius turned around slightly to give Remus a thumbs up and a conspiratorial wink, then refocused his attention to James. He struck a pose meant to be commanding and intimidating, and cleared his throat. "Now, James, listen to me. _Forget— her._" Sirius paused, letting the meaning of that one last word which he had spat out with such loathing and contempt hang over their heads. "James, you're— well, _James_. James Potter, Head Boy, Captain of Gryffindor's most renowned and esteemed Quidditch team—" At this, however, Remus coughed loudly, as they had been completely flattened by Slytherin in their last game, partly due to James's miserable state and half-hearted playing.

Sirius shot Remus a look, meaning, _Hey, cooperate with me here; we're in this together, you know,_ then continued. "Come on, James. Stop your bloody moping and sulking. Some Muggle once said, 'No man or woman is worth your tears, but the one who is won't make you cry'. She's not worth it, James, so stop wasting your time on her. Go ask Jessie Fitzroy out. Ask her to go to Hogsmeade with you this weekend or something." He paused, mulling over something. "Actually, on second thought, why don't you use the Marauder's Map and take her there... tonight, let's say?"

Both Remus and James started at Sirius as if he had suddenly sprouted leeks from his ears. (A/N: I would have said "as if he had suddenly grown horns on his head", but then again, they wouldn't be so surprised if that happened, would they? ^_^) Other than Lily, who had been an exception to so many of their rules that she was considered almost an honorary Marauder, none of the Marauders had ever introduced their pride and joy to any of their girlfriends. To do so was a taboo, one that none of them had ever even thought of breaking. And now Sirius was _suggesting_ it...

"And what if I said no, Sirius?"

Sirius raised his eyebrows, then let a devilish grin slowly creep over his face. The resemblance between Sirius and the Cheshire Cat about to pounce was startling.

James gulped audibly. "Do I really want to know?"

Sirius's grin widened even more, and even Remus started to grin evilly. Mouthing "be right back" to Sirius, he turned and trotted up the stairs to the boys' dormitory.

"Actually, no. No, I _don't_ want to know."

His eyes sparkling, Sirius said, "That's not enough, Jamesie-boy. Tell me what I want to here, or else..." He started to reach for his pocketed wand.

James squeaked. He could clearly remember the results of the last time Sirius had had his wand and he had been at his mercy, unarmed and unable to defend himself. "Okay! Okay! I'll go out with her!"

"Good, Jamesie-boy. _Very_ good."

"Now get these blasted ropes off me!"

Sirius shrugged. "Sorry, James. Don't know how." With that, he turned and walked off, whistling cheerily with an extremely big grin on his face.

"_SIRIUS SODDING BLACK!!! Get these bloody ropes off me!!!_"

With one last wave, Sirius climbed out of the portrait hole, leaving an outraged James tied up in a cushy chair, shouting threats and muttering obscenities at Sirius.

When Sirius had well and truly disappeared, James shut up and fumed silently. Then, he remembered that Remus should still be in the boys' dorm, unless he had jumped out the window or stolen James's Invisibility Cloak and crept away already.

"_REMUS LUPIN!!! Get your bloody ass down here NOW and get these blasted ropes off me!!!"_

There was a laugh from somewhere in front of James, and then Remus's head suddenly appeared, floating in midair. "Don't you look comfy, Jamesie-boy," he said with a laugh.

"Shut it, Lupin, and get these sodding ropes off me!"

Remus looked at James's fuming face and the smoke practically coming out of his ears, and started to crack up hysterically. Then, the idea was born...

When James saw all of Remus's body materialize, and Remus started to advance towards James with that damned devilish glint in his eyes and a wicked grin on his lips, James knew what was going to happen. "Oh no. Don't you bloody dare, Remus Lupin. I swear, if you do, I will strangle you, chop you up into little pieces, feed you to Fang—" When James thought Remus was close enough, he lashed out at him with his bound feet.

However, Remus managed to skip nimbly to the side in time to avoid being hit. "Nice try, James," he said, "but it's still not going to do you any good." Backing up until he was completely out of James's reach, Remus then cast a spell and slowly guided the Invisibility Cloak into place, completely covering James.

To the second years once again attempting to creep down the stairs, it looked like Remus was laughing hysterically at an empty chair. Scared of whatever unseen force was driving the older Gryffindors insane, they raced back to their rooms, locked the door, and hid under the bed. 

A noise came from the chair. And a very _loud_ noise at that. "Remus, you will die a horrible death. Make that a _very_ horrible death, the worst that anyone can ever imagine. And to everyone else, do _not_ sit on me! I repeat, I am _not_ a chair! Rather, I have been tied up by a bunch of bloody idiots. I am currently occupying this chair. I repeat, do not sit—"

Laughing, Remus said to no one in particular, "This won't do. We can't have this, or it won't be any fun, otherwise." He muttered a few choice words under his breath, and James felt his bonds tighten a bit more and lock firmly together. Another couple words, and James found that when he opened his mouth and/or worked his jaws, no sound came out. Not a word, a scream, a shout, or a moan could be heard.

All in all, looking there the chair where James had been (well, and actually still was), all you could see was— an empty chair. And there was nothing that could possibly change that perception.

Grinning and checking his handiwork one last time, Remus then turned and left the common room.

~*~*~

"She doesn't eat, Ara! For god's sakes, all she does outside of class is sit in the sodding library and look through those books!"

Ariel and Arabella, conversing in not-quite-quiet tones, stormed into the seemingly empty common room. They were unaware of James's presence, but he could hear every word they said.

"You know why, Ariel?" Arabella's tone was deadly calm— all the more to be feared. "It's because of those bloody Marauders— Lily's practically scared to death of them. They're a bunch of cold assholes with no feelings, a bunch of blasted idiots. But she's still doing it for him! I don't understand why, but then again, that's Lily for you..."

James narrowed his eyes. She was blaming them? Calling them "cold assholes with no feelings" and "a bunch of blasted idiots"? Even when it had been Lily who had cheated on him, who had ruthlessly broke his heart? And Lily was doing what for who?

Ariel gave Arabella a twinkling sidelong glance, a small grin playing on her lips. "Are you sure about that description, Ara? I swear, Remus _was_ looking at you the other day..." 

Arabella growled. "Shut it, Ariel."

James, hidden in his niche, started, surprised. That tone usually only meant one thing. Arabella like Remus? Ooooh...

Suddenly, James felt something land on him for a moment, then heard a scream. A hand felt around, hitting James in the nose and almost gouging out his eyes, before Arabella managed to get a hold of the cloth and jerk the Invisibility Cloak off him. Livid with rage and embarrassment, Arabella snarled, "What in the bloody hell do you think you're doing, Potter?"

James couldn't do anything but shake his head violently.

Drawing her wand, Arabella said, "Do you know how bloody tempted I am right now to make you over into something the cat just dragged in? Answer me, or I swear I will!"

Frantically, James opened and closed his mouth and shook his head, hoping she would understand. Arabella, in her state right now, could be much more dangerous than Sirius. And _that_ was something James didn't even dare think about.

Fortunately for James, Ariel got the message. Tapping Arabella on the shoulder, she said, "Ara, he's trying to say he can't talk."

Arabella lowered her wand for a second. "Bloody hell," she muttered. "But still—" She raised her wand again.

James squeaked [noiselessly] and struggled, mouthing angrily at Arabella.

She lowered her wand again. "What now, Potter?" she asked, annoyed. "I was going to take the spell off you."

He immediately stopped struggling, and turned a pleading, innocent puppy face that he usually reserved for teachers towards Arabella. The change was so startling— yet endearing— that Ariel couldn't help but smile.

Sighing resignedly, Arabella muttered the countercurse.

The moment he could talk, James shouted, "The bloody bugger! I swear, once I get my hands on him—"

At Arabella's pointed look, James shut up.

Her voice took on a calm, maybe even pleasant, tone to it, as she said, "You owe me one now, Potter. You're lucky that it was me who— came across— you, instead of, let's say, Kayla Martin or Tiffany Ciera."

James shuddered violently as he imagined all the horrible things that might have happened had it actually been Kayla or Tiffany who had discovered him defenseless and unable to escape their— advances. Oh, the absolute horror. He cringed.

Arabella smirked, knowing full well what was running through James's mind at the moment. Deciding to take advantage of it while she could, she said, "Actually, you owe me two. The other one is for me letting you talk." Then, she narrowed her eyes. "Wait. Potter, did you hear what me and Ariel were talking about before?" Her grip on her wand tightened.

James, being immensely afraid for his well-being, portrayed the very picture of innocence and reason as he said, "I doubt it. I—" 

"_I doubt it?_" Arabella's voice had once again taken on that dangerously calm tone.

"Okay! Okay! I _didn't_ hear you!" Thinking quickly, he said, "Invisibility Cloaks block sound."

Arabella brought her wand up and leveled it straight at James. "Meep. Wrong answer. Try again."

"Then... ummm... maybe... maybe that spell Remus put on me impairs hearing?"

Arabella raised her eyebrows at his frantic stuttering, but seemed to accept that, for the moment. Until something dawned upon her. "If you supposedly couldn't hear me when you still couldn't talk, then how did you know what I was saying before I took off the spell?"

James gulped. "Body language?"

Arabella slowly advanced towards James, wand pointed right at him, until she was almost in his face. James cowered in his chair. "Beep. Wrong answer. You're dead."

Suddenly, out of the corner of his eye, James saw Remus poke his head into the portrait hole, apparently to check on the "empty chair". When he saw that James had been rescued, in a manner of speaking, if one could consider being held at wand point as a form of rescue, he quickly withdrew and went to go execute the next step of his plan.

"_REMUS LUPIN!!! Get your bloody ass in here right now!!"_ James shouted, practically into Arabella's face. 

She quickly pulled back, her ears ringing, and glared at James.

"Oops. Sorry," he said, but he didn't look or sound the least bit apologetic. "But then again, if you hadn't shoved your face up into—"

"—his ass," interrupted a wickedly grinning Sirius, who was hovering outside the open window by the chair, "then maybe Jamesie-boy wouldn't have hollered so loud."

James took one look at Sirius, who was laughing maniacally, put two and two together, and immediately shouted, "Bloody hell! Sirius Black, if I find one bloody scratch on my bloody broom, I bloody swear—" (A/N: Sorry, I couldn't resist. I just find that immensely funny... that's what I randomly do at school, sometimes)

Before James could finish his heartfelt oath, though, Sirius zoomed away, still laughing.

James plopped back with a "hmph". Directing his attention to Arabella, he said, "Will you please take these ropes off me now so I can get my broom back before that blasted idiot crashes it into the Whomping Willow and turns it into pulp again?"

Arabella cocked her head to the side, a habit she had subconsciously inherited from Lily. "And pray tell why I would care about what happens to your bloody stick, Potter?"

"Fine. Then will you please get these ropes off me so I can go after Lupin?"

Arabella's mouth twitched. "For that cause, gladly."

She raised her wand and muttered something. James's foot twitched impatiently, waiting for the ropes to unravel so he could get his arms to come back to life again.

Suddenly, the ropes began to glow and burn. James's face contorted with pain as he struggled, and Arabella and Ariel looked on with something very near to absolute horror.

"What did you do, Ara?" whispered Ariel, her voice shaking.

Arabella's face paled. "All I did was say the countercurse to the Binding Spell. It should have worked..."

Finally, the glowing began to dim, and James collapsed limply onto the chair, breathing hard. His eyes were dark and reminiscent of the time before when he had once experienced such pain.

After a tense moment of silence, Arabella said meekly, "James?"

At first, she didn't think he'd heard her. Either that, or he was ignoring her. But then, she saw that his eyes had closed and his head fell limply to the side.

The ropes were still burning hot.

"Oh shit. Ariel, go get Lily. Quick."

~*~*~

(A/N: I was originally going to end this chapter here, but I decided not to end with this type of cliffie, because I've already used it before, and it gets annoying, I know... so here's a bit more.)

Lily was in the library flipping through a book and absently twirling a quill over her fingers when Ariel crashed through the door, panting. Her eyes quickly scanned the room, then Ariel finally spotted Lily at a table on the other side of the room.

"Lily! Lily! _Lily!!_ C'mere, quick!" Ariel's frantic voice carried loudly across the room, earning disapproving stares from the other students and the librarian, who started to make her way over to Ariel, brandishing a feather duster. Ariel paid them no heed, though, and continued weaving her way through the bookshelves.

Lily quickly stuffed the notes she'd taken on the book into her bag, shut the book and hid it in a shelf, and opened a novel, pretending to read. As Ariel neared the table, Lily slowly inserted the bookmark in the book and looked up, feigning slight annoyance. "What, Ariel?"

Ariel came to a halt by Lily's seat, raised her eyebrows slightly at the novel she had been "reading", looked over at the bookshelf Lily had hidden the other book behind, but said nothing. She stuffed the novel into Lily's bag, grabbed the bag, and dragged Lily forcefully out of the library into the hallway.

Once they had arrived in the vicinity out of earshot of anyone else, Lily removed her arm from Ariel's grasp and planted her feet firmly where they were, refusing to move another inch. "What's all this about?" she demanded.

"No time to explain, Lily. Arabella looked like she knew what she was doing, and she practically ordered me to get you. So come on." With that cryptic, not-quite-informative reply, Ariel once again grabbed a hold of Lily's arm, and continued pulling her towards the Gryffindor Common Room.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Yay! Done typing! **grins proudly**

This chapter didn't encompass as much of the plot as I hoped it would, because my plot bunny drank a little too much of my insanity and got a little too high on crack, so the end just kinda... got out of control. So I'm planning to write a short, but concise, chapter within the next couple of days with the part of the plot that I failed to put in this chapter. From now on, I think I'll try to write shorter chapters, but update more often... How bout that? **grins** I likes that...

So review, please, and look for more soon!

=^.^= MQ


	7. Fate Thinks Otherwise

Yes, I remember what I said I would do for this chapter, and I'm sorry. I tried to literally write a short chapter with some plot in it as quick as I could so I could update for you guys, but the characters ran away from me and got out of control... so the plot here took another little detour. And the chapter became long. And... yeah, I think you get the point. I'll stop rambling now.

Here's chapter 7, and thanks to all my reviewers!

Author's Note: Special thanks to The Omniscient Bookseller, for coming up with the coolest words and descriptions and stuff. These things just kind of sit in my head, and I occasionally find times to use them, like now. ^_^

Oh, and some swearing in this chapter. Not a lot, but this is –Arabella- getting pissed, mind.

**Chapter 7: Fate Thinks Otherwise**

_Bloody hell,_ muttered Remus as he searched the library, _wasn't Lily just here a few minutes ago?_

After thoroughly combing the library and finding no sign of Lily or her whereabouts, Remus was rather pissed. He needed to find Lily _now_, or it wouldn't work. Muttering darkly under his breath, Remus pushed open the door again and left, with a mumbled apology to the librarian and a mumbled "'Scuse me" to the person he bumped into as he emerged into the hallway. Had Remus been paying attention, he would have realized that that person was Tiffany Ciera, and immediately run in the other direction as fast as he could without being overly conspicuous, but as he wasn't, he didn't notice the other girl's gaze follow him all the way to the end of the hallway. The only thought on his mind was, _Where the hell is Lily?_

Cursing, Remus set off once again to find her.

~*~*~

After what seemed like many long hours, Ariel finally returned, Lily in tow. Arabella was fidgeting by the chair, checking James's pulse every minute or so as if afraid he would suddenly die on her.

"About time!" she snapped, immediately running up to them. "C'mon, Lily, get over here!" She seized Lily's arm are dragged her over.

Once they reached the chair, Lily yanked her arm back and rubbed it gingerly. "What on—"

Then, she spotted the unconscious figure slumped on the chair. A myriad of unreadable emotions flitted across her face, as Lily fidgeted uncertainly.

_James..._

She knew what she should do. She should turn around and walk away. She should act like seeing James didn't matter to her, like it didn't rip her heart to pieces.

Like it didn't hurt to pretend she didn't love him.

Lily tried to walk away. She had turned and taken her first painful step towards the portrait hole when Ariel's gentle voice reached her ears, "Lily, James is hurt. If you can look me in the eyes and tell me you can walk away from him without a single care or concern, I'll leave you alone and never mention him again." Ariel paused, then continued, her voice soft but clear. "Lily, stop trying to fool us. Most of all, stop trying to fool yourself.

"You love him."

Hearing the truth stated so bluntly, Lily's resolve wavered. But she couldn't back down, not now. Not when so much depended on her being strong.

She raised her chin defiantly, locked gazes with Ariel, and whispered through clenched teeth, "_I don't. I don't love him._"

Then she turned and fled out of the room.

~*~*~

"Lily!" Arabella streaked past Ariel, startling her. "Lily, wait up!"

Lily's muffled sobs could still be heard, as could Arabella's footsteps running down the hall.

Ariel turned to James, her eyes cold. "James Potter, you're blind," she half-whispered to his unconscious form. "You're bloody dumb, deaf, and blind. You can't see how much she still loves you."

Ariel then turned and ran after Lily and Arabella.

~*~*~

Just as Ariel rounded the corner in chase of her friends, Remus ran up the stairs on the other side of the hallway, panting.

A minute after he disappeared through the portrait hole, a heartfelt curse echoed down the stairs.

Not only had Lily seemingly disappeared from the face of the earth, but the Marauder's Map was also nowhere to be found.

~*~*~

Ariel almost crashed headlong into Arabella when she turned another corner, because Arabella was just standing there in the middle of the hallway, gaping.

The entire stretch of hallway ahead of them was empty.

Brushing herself off, Ariel asked, "What happened? Where'd she go?"

Shakily, Arabella replied, "I swear I saw her turn the corner. When I followed her, I caught a glimpse of— of— of her back. And she looked pale. Transparent, even. Like a ghost. And then she just disappeared."

Ariel looked around her, but she only saw a few paintings on the walls and a suit of armor at the other end of the corridor. "It's worth a try," she muttered.

Walking up to it, she rapped it sharply in the chest. "Have you seen Lily Evans? Red hair, green eyes—"

The visor lifted ever so slightly. "Eh? Eh? Who's there?"

Arabella winced and fought the urge to clap her hands to her ears. Its voice sounded like a cross between a broken heater and a dying cow.

"Sir, have you seen Lily Evans? Red hair, green—"

"I heard you the first time! I ain't deaf, missy!"

"Well then, have you?"

"I may be old, but I ain't senile. You young 'uns ain't got no respect for yer elders no more. Disrespectful bunch, the lot of you—"

"Shut your trap, you lousy chunk of rust, and answer me!" Arabella marched up to it and jabbed it threateningly with her wand. "Have you seen Lily Evans?"

The suit of armor tried to do the equivalent of sniffing disdainfully and poking its nose in the air. "For that, young lady, I shall not answer you."

"I'll hex you!"

"Thou shall do no such thing—"

"_Cantare semper!_"

The strains of one large lovable purple and green dinosaur's infamous "I Love You" song followed Ariel and Arabella as they bid the armor their leave, snickering, and continued their search down the corridor. The noise could be heard halfway across the school. As could the clanging of metal as the suit of armor repeatedly bashed its head into the wall.

~*~*~

Arabella and Ariel were walking at a fast pace, eyes carefully scanning for a trace of telltale red hair, when Arabella stopped abruptly. "Ariel, what if something's happened to James? We left him alone in the common room. What if he's slipped into a coma? Or— or— or worse?"

Ariel tried to reassure Arabella, though her voice was nearly as shaky. "Ara, I don't think it's _that_ bad—"

However, instead of pacifying her, Ariel only succeeded in getting Arabella even more riled up. She whirled on Ariel, her face now pale except for two bright splotches of temper high on her cheeks. "Not bad? _Not bad?!_ Ariel, didn't you see what happened? _Crucio_— it looked like the fucking Cruciatus Curse!"

Had they been listening, they might have heard Lily's sharp exhalation of breath behind them.

Arabella was shaking visibly now, and her voice had dropped to a horrified whisper. "I— I was there when Voldemort killed my parents. The bloody bastard put fucking Crucio on them for _minutes_. It drove them insane. Completely insane. It was _mercy_ that he killed them." She gave a harsh, bitter laugh. "Can you believe that? Mercy. _Mercy._ God, it's so ironic— it's _wrong_."

She sagged against the wall, her body trembling as she fought to stifle the sobs in her throat. Ariel stood by her, murmuring softly into Arabella's ear and just providing her with the soothing comfort of human presence.

Lily, her head reeling with all that she'd observed and a horrible sinking feeling in her stomach, turned abruptly and raced to the Gryffindor Common Room.

~*~*~

As Remus was riffling through the mess piled on the foot of James's bed, searching for the familiar piece of parchment and muttering incoherent curses, he suddenly saw a blurry shadow zip past the window. For a moment, Remus was confused, but then he saw the tail end of James's beloved broom and a head of black hair, and it clicked.

He opened the window, stuck his head out, and shouted, "Oy, Padfoot, where's the Map?"

Sirius laughed, then waved what looked suspiciously like the aforementioned object around in the air.

"Bloody hell! Sirius, I need—"

But Sirius had zoomed away already, laughing manically and doing steep vertical dives while flailing his arms around dramatically, one hand clutching the parchment.

Eyes flashing, Remus dashed down the stairs and out of the portrait hole. _Oh Padfoot, you will pay dearly for this. If my plan doesn't work... _

_If I didn't know better, I swear you act like you know my plan and are trying to sabotage it._

_That's not true, is it? It's not possible..._

_Oy._

~*~*~

Lily stared at the portrait of the Fat Lady. She didn't know why she'd run up here, why she had felt that she'd _had_ to come up here. One minute she had been listening to Ariel and Arabella, and in the next she'd found herself racing up the stairs like one possessed, Invisibility Cloak draped over one arm and heart pounding wildly.

Why was she bothering?

The Fat Lady was looking at Lily expectantly. "Password, dear?"

Lily was about to automatically reply, "Chocolate muse bunny" when the nasty little voice in her head spoke up again.

****

**_Why are you doing this?_**

_... I don't know..._

She was turning to walk away when she heard the familiar creak of hinges behind her. Lily turned around, and gaped. 

_The Fat Lady had opened without the password? Who— how— why—_

"Go on, dear." Lily gave the Fat Lady one last bewildered look, then did as she was told, telling the nasty little voice in her head to shut its mouth already.

~*~*~

Remus ran down the stairs on the other end of the hallway, mumbling apologies to those he nearly knocked over in his mad dash. Finally he shoved open the door and emerged into the cool, crisp air, racing towards the Broom Shed. When the small structure appeared in his line of vision, he slowed and took out his wand. "_Accio broom!_" As the broom took its sweet time floating over to him, Remus groaned. It was in these situations that he envied Lily, Charms Master of Hogwarts. If he had even _half_ her talent, he probably could have summoned a broom all the way from Gryffindor Tower without breaking a sweat. And then he could have just flown out the window and gotten the Map from Sirius, and his plan would be working. But no, instead, he had to run all the way to the Broom Shed so— with his at-most-satisfactory Charms skills— he wouldn't accidentally crash a broom while trying to summon it through the window of McGonagall's office, as James had done in his first year.

Remus finally ran out of patience, and raced to meet the broom halfway. Shakily, he hopped on and took off, performing a small spell to point him in Sirius's direction. As he sped off, he gulped and tried not to think about the endless list of reasons the Marauders had come up with about why school brooms were not to be trusted.

Such as their perpetual wobbling.

As Remus neared the lake, he spotted a small blur doing loops and figure-eights over the surface. He gritted his teeth and flattened as much as he could, urging the broom to go faster.

If anyone deserved to have a Fully-Body Bind cast on him while he were flying over the lake, it was Sirius. And Remus would have happily treated Sirius to such an honor had he not feared the Map might be lost or damaged in the waters.

Sighing resignedly, Remus resorted to relishing the idea of casting an Aqua Phobia charm on Sirius and watching him freak out. _And then,_ mused Remus, _maybe I could get the Map from him, and _then_ I can put a Full Body Bind on him..._ He laughed with sadistic glee as he imagined Sirius falling into the lake, immobile and screaming bloody murder at the sight of water... it would almost be worth having to fly on a crappy school broom.

~*~*~

Hesitantly, Lily walked towards the chair. There was James, sprawled limply on the cushions, his face pale but oddly peaceful. He might have just been sleeping, had it not been for the ropes binding him. She carefully reached out a hand and felt the ropes, eyes scanning for— though not expecting to find— any knots. Her guess was confirmed— it was only a magical spell, and therefore only needed a counterspell.

Lily searched her memory for the possible spells that could have been used, and came up with several. Some were less likely than others, though. _It's probably a simple Binding Spell_, mused Lily,_ and Arabella knows the counterspell. Why'd she ask me?_

Oh, but she knew. She could see right through her friends' attempts to set her up again with James. If only they understood...

Lily sighed. _Might as well just get it done with. Nothing to get riled up over at all._

She took out her wand and uttered the incantation for the counterspell, then quickly turned to go, hoping she could disappear before James woke up. However, a sizzling sound and the faint odor of burning fabric stopped her in her tracks, and Lily whirled around.

Her eyes opened wide when she took in the scene in front of her. The ropes were glowing the color of burning embers, and James's robes were beginning to burn through.

Arabella's voice rang in her mind. _Crucio— it looked like the Cruciatus Curse—_

James began to twitch and moan, having regained some consciousness. Little beads of sweat formed on his forehead, and he bit his lip, a thin line of blood trickling down his chin. For a split second, his eyes fluttered open without actually seeing, wide and mindless with pain and terror.

Lily gulped, her hand shaking. _Binding Spell— powerful— side effects— burning—_

She racked her brain frantically for the spell that had been used. It had to be a very powerful one, or the side effects of failed attempts to break it wouldn't have been this vicious. Lily had a nagging suspicion that the person who had cast this charm had had her in mind, because she was sure no other student in Hogwarts would have been able to break it. As vain as it sounded, it was true, and Lily didn't like it. It was a warped kind of compliment in a way, but she didn't appreciate it in the least. 

She looked down at her wand, which she had been subconsciously gripping so tightly that her knuckles were white. As much as she enjoyed a challenge, breaking this spell was not one she particularly wished to take.

Especially because there was no counterspell. The only possible way for her to get James out of the ropes was through a blast of pure magic. A blast that, if abused or handled incorrectly, could end up burning one of them alive.

Taking a deep breath, Lily extended her wand arm and closed her eyes. 

The bloody idiot who cast this charm really had no idea what he had gotten himself into.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

As I said before, this chapter ran away from me... I really didn't plan on this sudden turn of events. When I posted the last chapter, what I had in mind for this chapter was a short, maybe 6 page chapter that solved the problem, and introduced a major point in the plotline. But, as you can see, that didn't happen. I would have written more in this chappy, but I wanted to upload, so I'm ending it here. 

If you really wanna know, the entire blast of magic thing was made up spontaneously from the top of my head half a minute ago. Probably influenced by Tamora Pierce. I'm sorry if you think it's clishe-ish, but I really couldn't think of another, better way to get out of the corner I'd backed myself into.

Ok, so next chapter... this problem gets solved, and I will –make- myself actually include what I wanted to. I will. **firmly makes oath**

I'm going to start writing it right now. And it will probably be kinda short... ok, my definition of short varies a bit. But it hopefully shouldn't detour any more than it already has, or this story will never get anywhere… **sigh**

Please review to make me happy! ^_^ 

Making me happy probably isn't on your top ten list of most important things to do, but... do it anyway. 

=^.^= Merlin's Quill


	8. In Which Lily Realizes Some Things

Yay! It was midterms week for me, so I actually had time to write... ^_^ Yes, that sounds ironic, doesn't it? Well, anyhoo, here's Chapter 8 (quite an odd chapter, methinks). Enjoy!

**Chapter 8: In Which Lily Finally Realizes Some Things**

Lily tried to remember what she'd read about pure-magic spells. _First, close your eyes and look for your magic..._

It was dark. Lily hated the dark... she wanted to get out... open her eyes... so dark, get out... out!... where's the light?... light?... can't find a light...

Lily started to panic. Where was her magic? It should have been there, a pool of white light, just beneath the surface of her conscious mind... but it was dark.

So dark...

It was a hard struggle to keep her eyes closed, a struggle she almost lost. Her extended arm was shaking uncontrollably, her hand close to dropping her wand, and her legs felt numb. It was so dark... so deep... so vast, empty... falling...

She caught herself just as she was about to topple forward, and righted herself once more, telling herself to breathe deeply.

_Lily, you _are_ a witch. And a pretty damned good one, too..._ breath in, breathe out... _your magic's here. You just haven't found it yet... it's here, Lily, it's here..._

"They put Mudbloods in St. Mungo's, you know," Tiffany Ciera sneered. "Because they're not really magic. They're just freaks of nature. Like you." ...

Lily shuddered— that was one of her worst fears. To find out she wasn't really a witch, that she was just a freak of nature... to lose the only home she really had, where she felt she belonged.

Breathing in deeply, Lily began to search for memories— the shock of seeing an own fly through the window and receiving her Hogwarts letter, the exhilaration of waving her first wand around and seeing sparks fly... the thrill of having levitated her feather up to the ceiling of the Charms classroom on her first try...

And finally she saw it. A brief glimpse, but one which dispelled her fears. _She wasn't a freak. She was a witch. She was magic._

Lily dove deeper, heading towards the spark of light she had glimpsed. It was almost within her reach... just a bit more...

She reeled back in surprise. Wasn't magic supposed to be white?

Then why did hers have colors?

Out of curiosity, Lily reached towards the nearest wisp of light— a gray, ghostly beam that flitted and glimmered, threaded evasively through the mass of shimmering colors— and suddenly felt a wave of confusion. _Dizzy... what was this?... where?... memories... no memories..._

Shaken, she shook free of the magic's hold. A snaky beam of blue reached for her... _so nice... peaceful... no worries... sleep... sleep..._

Then yellow... _warmth... so nice... hotter... no, burning!... Burning!..._

She stumbled back from the yellow into a pool of white. _Nothing wrong... so clean... pure..._

Lily never saw it until it hit her. The wall of black— dark, looming, dangerous, powerful. Visions of death slammed into her with a force that left her immobile. _So much death... destruction..._

_A face so much like hers... pleading, screaming... a voice, harsh, cold... a beam of green... death..._

The cry of a baby... so much like James...

Lily stumbled back in shock, falling through the sea of colors back into the real world of consciousness. As her eyes flew open, she felt something... _tugging_... and a blinding flash of light exploded in front of here.

The pain coursing through her drove her to her knees, fighting not to scream and gasping desperately for breath, tears running helplessly down her face.

Lily had just managed to curl herself into a ball, harsh sobs racking her body, when James began to stir. At the first sign of movement, the ropes binding him disintegrated into a pile of ashes on the chair. _Tired... so tired... hurts... rest..._ James's broken thoughts rang in his head, pounding painfully. He just wanted to sleep, to forget about the awful pain for a little while, but the sound of muffled sobs reached his ears, and he opened his eyes.

The first sight he saw was her bowed head resting on her arms, red hair tumbling haphazardly over her knees. She was crying, and James's first instinct was to go put his arms around her and hold her close, kissing away her tears. But then everything that had happened in the past few days rushed back to him, and he closed his eyes, waiting for the anger in him to erupt and flow forth, a massive tidal wave of pain and fury.

But it didn't come. He felt nothing but a hollow of emptiness and longing in him as he looked at her. Where had all his anger gone?

James clenched his jaw and shut his eyes once again, desperate and determined to find that anger. He needed it— it would be like a wave of adrenaline, a source of strength for the time being. It would help him get through this all without falling apart. Dammit, where was it?

But he couldn't dredge it up from the dark mines of his heart, so when he gathered the strength to speak, his voice was hoarse, but not angry.

"Isn't Chase's arm going to be lonely? Why aren't you there draping yourself all over him?"

Lily's head snapped up in shock. His voice sounded so emotionless, so... _cold_. And his eyes... She shuddered. In them was the look James reserved for gits like Snape and Lucius Malfoy. It struck Lily hard to know that she now ranked with them on James's List of Loathing.

Lily opened her mouth to say something— exactly what, she didn't know, but she couldn't stand the silence and seeing the disgust in his eyes— but James's voice, flat and sneering, cut her off. "Oh, but I bet you're as good a bed warmer as an arm ornament, right?"

It was too much— Lily couldn't take it anymore. She stumbled to her feet, eyes narrowed and fists clenched by her sides. James stood up as well, casually getting to his feet and towering over her. The same aspect that had once made her feel pleasantly delicate and feminine was now a weakness as she matched him, eye for eye.

It was then that James pretended to just have noticed she'd been crying. He reached out a hand to tip her chin up and wipe away her tears, but it was not meant to be an endearing gesture. His touch was cold and impersonal, like one would brush an unwanted fleck of dust off a desktop, and his eyes were full of contempt. "Oh, has Lily-kins been crying now?" he mocked. Lily flinched as if she'd been struck at the use of her nickname, but James plowed on mercilessly. "Did she get in a fight with her _boyfriend?_ Guess now it's time for her to run to her other lover for comfort now, isn't it?"

Lily's eyes flooded as she jerked away from him, swallowing convulsively as she tried to stem her tears. Unable to speak as she slumped against the wall, she could only watch as James flashed her one last look and spun on his heel, vanishing through the portrait hole.

~*~*~

Remus slowed his broom as he began to close in on Sirius. What to do now? He could try launching a full-frontal attack on Sirius to get the Map, using the element of surprise to his advantage, or he could shoot a couple well-placed spells from here, and hope that he could get the Map and escape before Sirius retaliated. 

Hmmm...

"Hey Remmy!" Remus groaned. Apparently, Sirius has spotted him, and was grinning from ear to ear. The uncanny resemblance to a dog baring his teeth was really rather unnerving, Remus remarked to himself with a small grin. _Well, there goes the element of surprise. Not that that method would have worked anyhoo... not against Sirius and his super-Beater skills, at least. So here goes Plan B..._

Remus, wand concealed carefully in his sleeve, waved, and then simultaneously shot off a few random spells at Sirius.

Blinking at the beams of light shooting past him (plus the random bird that nearly crashed into his nose), Sirius started, "Errr... Moony... what the hell—"

"_Impedimenta!_"

The jet of light hit Sirius in the stomach, causing him to nearly freeze in mid-air. The broom kept going forward, though, and had almost shot out from beneath him when Sirius came to his senses and quickly reached out a hand to grasp the end and hang on. "Moony—"

Sirius was suddenly pushed flat on his broom, held firmly down as a hand riffled through his robes. "And this is what you get for running off with the damned bloody Map when I needed it, Padfoot," the voice spoke matter-of-factly in his ear.

The hand abruptly released Sirius, and Remus flew off a little ways, halting a couple yards in front of Sirius. "And now," Remus grinned as he brandished his wand dramatically, "the grand finale."

"_Trahe cadere!_" Followed by, "_Phobia aquae!_"

Remus waited expectantly to see the shock on Sirius's face when he was yanked off his broom and began to develop a sudden, intense fear of water as he fell into the lake below. He wasn't prepared, however, for his own shock when his own wand vibrated, grew burning hot, and threw him off his broom as well, plunging headfirst into the waters.

~*~*~

"Mind you don't drip all over the carpet now, boys," squawked the Fat Lady as she opened the portrait hole, eyeing them disapprovingly.

When they were on the other side of the portrait, in the common room, Sirius turned around and did an imitation of the Fat Lady— falsetto and all. "Mind you don't drip water from your dirty selves and pollute the pretty carpet now, boys," he mocked in a high, nasal-sounding voice, striking a pose and fluffing his hair. The effect, however, was ruined when Sirius's voice squeaked at the end.

Remus snickered. "Very nice, Padfoot."

Together, they padded into the common room towards the glowing hearth, leaving a trail of water and soggy footprints behind them.

As Remus chose the chair nearest the fire and sank down into it, he noted resignedly that James had already been freed. _Ah well,_ he thought, _it was worth a try._

Sirius shook his head, sending water droplets splattering everywhere, and then started to wring out his hair right in the middle of the common room.

Remus raised an eyebrow. "Errrr, Padfoot? You sure that's a good idea? I don't think you know how to dry that, and," he pointed out tactfully, "that puddle is growing by the second."

Sirius looked down, appearing to just have realized the fact that he was responsible for the puddle. "Oops," he said, with a small grin at Remus. After thinking for a second, he grinned again. "Problem solved, dear Moony." He then promptly started to take off his robes.

"Oy, Padfoot, no stripping in the Common Room!" Remus covered his face dramatically with a pillow and flung another in Sirius's general direction (never mind that it landed a couple yards from its intended target).

Sirius paused midway, smirking at Remus. "Jealous, Moony? Want to keep it all to yourself?" He then continued peeling off his clothes, taking care to do it as dramatically as possible. "Sirius Black stripping in the Common Room!" he shouted, snickering. "Who wants to come join Moony and watch!"

Remus threw another pillow at Sirius, this time hitting the target right-on. "Have you no shame at all, Padfoot?" he laughed. "I was just trying to preserve the virgin eyes of any unfortunate person who might witness your— lewd— acts."

" 'Unfortunate', Moony? Nah. More like 'privileged'." Sirius dropped his robes on the floor, over the puddle by his feet. "See? Bow to my ingenuity. Problem solved." A second later, "Besides, there isn't anyone in here right now...

"... is there?" He looked around the room, and Remus could have sworn there was a faint blush on his cheeks. Then again, knowing Sirius, it might have just been the glow of the fireplace...

"Trying to regain some of your non-existent modesty?" Remus snickered. "I don't know, look around. Tell me if there're any permanently blinded people that need to be rushed to the hospital wing."

Sirius stuck out his tongue at Remus (oh how mature! ^_^  **the voices yell "Hypocrite!"** Ah, hush you.) and looked around. Suddenly, his features hardened, and his voice became strained. "No, no _innocents_ around here, Moony."

Remus sat up, confused by Sirius's complete change in attitude. "What, Sirius— oh, hi, Lily."

Lily slowly stood up from where she had been curled, unnoticed, against the wall. Noting her red eyes and tearstained cheeks, Remus made a mental note to ask James if he'd had anything to do with it later. Warily, her eyes traveled in Sirius's direction, where he looked like he was barely restraining himself from doing something drastic. "I don't mean to bother you, Remus, Sirius, but could I ask you a question?" Her voice was soft and tentative, as she waited for some sign of acknowledgment, eyes slightly wary.

When Sirius opened his mouth, most likely to snap something, Remus shot him a warning look. "Go on, Lily. I'll make sure this mutt here keeps his trap shut," he said pleasantly. Sirius turned to Remus at this, miming biting and snapping motions, and Remus whacked him upside the head, grinning. However, when Sirius's gaze returned to Lily, he once again became silent and motionless, a statue with wary, calculating eyes.

"I was wondering— about James—"

Here, Sirius cut her off, eyes blazing. "What more do you want with him, you bitch?" he snarled.

Remus laid a hand on Sirius's arm, warning him with his eyes.

Sirius's angry contempt brought Lily out of her meekness. Standing taller, matching Sirius's furious gaze, she responded hotly, "I was just wondering if either of you might've had anything to do with the bloody Restricted Curse someone put on him, that's all—"

Remus's hand slipped off Sirius's shoulder as he whirled around. "_What?_"

Her eyes cold, Lily answered, "You heard me. Restricted Curse, as in possible time in Azkaban." She saw Remus's face pale slightly, and guessed it wasn't just from hearing that one had been put on James. "Well? A Marauders' joke go a little too far this time?"

Sirius started to move towards Lily. "You don't know that, Evans, so shut your trap or—"

Once again, Remus put out an arm to stop Sirius. "If you can't control yourself, get your arse out of here," he said quietly to Sirius. He then turned back to Lily. "Someone could have cast it over my—"

Lily snorted. "Really, Remus. Think about what you're saying. There aren't that many people around here who can cast Restricted Curses without ending up maiming themselves in the process."

"You're one of them, aren't you?" Sirius's cold voice interrupted. "And so's Chase."

"What are you implying, Sirius?" Lily's eyes narrowed. "That either Chase or I would be immoral enough — not to mention bloody damned stupid— to do it?"

"And what if I said yes?"

"Listen, you—"

"Stop." Remus stepped bodily in between Sirius and Lily, blocking them both. "Just shut up, Padfoot, for once in your life, will you? And no, Lily, we're not accusing you or Chase of anything." He sighed. "I'm just— confused— about all this. I put a Binding Spell on James. Not the first-year one; one that's a bit more advanced, but nowhere near impossible to break. Oh, when you say 'a Restricted Curse', I take it you mean the binding one, right?"

Lily nodded. "Yes, that one. Did you know it produces a side effect like the Cruciatus when someone tries and fails to break it?" Her hands were trembling.

"Oh god. You mean James got put through—" Remus found himself unable to go on, to state something like that so... blandly. The implication hung over them.

When the silence became unbearable, Remus spoke up again. "Lily—" He stumbled, trying to figure out how to get the words out of his mouth. "Lily... do you think I did it?"

Once again there was silence, this time broken by Lily's soft voice. "No... no, Remus, I don't."

Remus looked relieved. "Well, I suppose all we can do is think about this rationally." He began to pace around the center of the room. "There are a few possible scenarios. One, someone else put the Curse on James, over my Binding Spell. Two, I screwed up my incantation, somehow, and it... errrrr... mutated?" He paused, looking sheepish. "Ummm... Lily, can you think of a third?"

"Well..."

Suddenly, an explosion sounded from somewhere above them, most likely from the girls' dorm. There were a few shouted swears (which Sirius raised an eyebrow at, trying hard not to smile), then a fifth-year girl came racing down the stairs.

Spotting Lily, she shouted, "Lily! Thank god!" She paused to catch her breath. "Can you help me here?" The girl lifted up her right hand, to which her wand seemed to be stuck to.

"Dessie, what on earth did you do?" Lily cautiously prodded the wand and then examined Dessie's hand, wrinkling her nose. 

"Errrr..." Dessie (short for Desdemona, which she hated to be called) mumbled. "I..."

"Never mind, I don't think I want to know. But I'm afraid I can't do anything about this; you'll have to go to the Hospital Wing, I suppose." Dessie groaned, and Lily stifled a laugh. "Hey, well, blame Rich. He thought it was funny to screw around with your wand yesterday. Then again, you should blame yourself, too, for being too lazy to ask a teacher to fix it for you."

Dessie sighed, making a face at Lily. "Okay, well... ick, off to the Hospital to be tortured like a lab specimen now..." She turned around and disappeared through the portrait hole.

"Lab specimen?" Sirius inquired at Remus, expecting to receive another "It's a Muggle thing, Padfoot" type of response, but asking anyway.

However, Remus didn't hear Sirius's question. He was too busy grinning and looking like his birthday had come early. "Lily, I've got it!"

"Hmm?"

"Well, I think I might have an explanation..." Remus then proceeded to outline to Lily everything that had happened during the afternoon, leaving out only that the whole thing had been a ruse to get her and James back together. When Remus said he'd "needed the Map", she had known better that to ask what for, so there was no problem with that. He finally ended with, "See, it fits. I think someone might have tampered with my wand."

Lily nodded, thinking. "Yes, it does make sense, in a way, but who?"

"... I have no idea..."

~*~*~

Lily sank down onto her bed, fighting the urge to cry. Had she meant so little to him? So little that he could just forget everything that had happened— that he could forget _her_— so quickly?

She opened the small compartment in her nightstand, and took out a miniature picture frame. On it was a picture of James.

As she looked at the picture— a non-moving Muggle picture taken with her own camera— a tear slipped down her cheek. Her heart wrenched at the sight of his face— so happy, so carefree, so handsome it made her heart ache.

Another tear slipped and fell, followed by another, and another.

All she could think of in her head was James, standing up to go ask Jessie Fitzroy out, in the middle of the Great Hall during dinner. The Hall had been deathly silent, James's voice unnaturally loud. When he uttered the fateful words, also handing Jessie a beautiful red rose and kissing her on the lips, hundreds of eyes had turned to Lily to see her reaction. She hadn't known whether to be impassive, or to scream, or to cry. All she'd wanted to do was to— to— She hadn't known then, and she still didn't know now. All she knew was it had ripped her heart to pieces, to see James give a rose to another girl, like he'd once given her. To see James kiss another girl, like he'd once kissed her.

To see that her ruse had worked.

To see that James was finally gone, torn from her grasp, never to return.

The tears were flowing freely now. Lily made no attempt to stifle them, as she looked at the small picture in her hand, remembering. Remembering, and cherishing; remembering, and hating.

She fumbled around blindly on her bed for her wand. Finally locating it, gripping it so hard her knuckles were turning white, she uttered the incantation.

And watched as the flames crawled over his face, eating and tearing and destroying, leaving her with nothing but a pile of ashes.

Gone, never to return. 

Stumbling to her feet, Lily opened the window, and flung the ashes out to the winds. Crying uncontrollably, she sank to the floor and rested her head on her knees.

Finally gone, never to return.

Once and for all.

Forever.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

            Yes, finally done with the chapter, and it actually reached the point I wanted it to. Sorry for the long wait between chapters— I would have posted sooner, but I really wanted to put the last part in, and I never got to write it. So finally, I did just now, from the top of my head right into my compy, and tada! Here's Chapter 8! **grins**

Please do review... 

 


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